By Dave Statter
dstatter@wusa9.com
STATter 911 — http://www.statter911.com
WUSA9 — http://www.wusa9.com
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. — STATter 911 has learned that the month-long dispatch restrictions on the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department have been lifted by Prince George’s County. It happened Wednesday at 1800 hours. At 1900 hours, Rescue Engine 33 was transferred to Station 26 (District Heights).
Since August 20th, Kentland had been mostly restricted to its first-due response area. That order came from Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Chief Lawrence Sedgwick. Sedgwick took the action and also removed Kentland’s acting chief, Tony Kelleher, after unsuccessful efforts to have Station 33 accept an ambulance.
The current Chief 33, Ed Lehan, tells STATter 911 that the restrictions were lifted following a meeting Tuesday between Kentland’s leadership and Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson. Lehan says Johnson was joined in the meeting by Public Safety Director Vernon Herron. In recent weeks Herron has been leading efforts to resolve the 8-month-long effort to place Ambulance 339 in service. Lehan says Chief Sedgwick and his staff were not at the meeting.
Chief Lehan said of Johnson and Herron, “We are really pleased with their efforts and initiative”.
At the meeting, Tony Kelleher was reinstated as Kentland’s deputy chief. For now, Ed Lehan is expected to remain as Chief 33.
Lehan told STATter 911 that there will be a career-staffed, basic-life-support unit operating out of Station 33 in the very near future. According to Lehan all sides are still working out the final arrangements on quarters for the crew.
On August 20th, PGFD issued a press release and provided TV interviews about the sanctions against Kentland, but when asked about the latest changes, PGFD Chief Spokesperson Mark Brady said, “No comment”.
Similarly Jim Keary, spokesman for County Executive Johnson told STATter 911, “It’s best Kentland tells this story”. When pressed further about this change in policy and the meeting on Wednesday, Keary said, “It’s better that we defer to them.”
We also have a call into Public Safety Director Herron.
Chief Sedgwick has said in the past that he wants every fire station in Prince George’s County to have an EMS transport unit. Besides Station 33, the only hold outs are Station 28 (West Lanham) and Station 37 (Ritchie).
Sedgwick and his staff began negotiating with Kentland in February to have the all-volunteer fire company provide ambulance service. Former Kentland Chief Michael Mattison was removed from his position in May after Kentland didn’t follow Chief Sedgwick’s order to begun operating Ambulance 339.
Since 1972 Dave Statter has covered the news. A good deal of Dave’s reporting has focused on how fire and emergency medical services are delivered in and around Washington and Baltimore. Along the way, Dave was also a volunteer firefighter, an emergency dispatcher and a cardiac rescue technician.