By Dave Statter
Statter911.com
OXON HILL, Md. — On Friday we reported on an incident that occurred last Wednesday as a volunteer crew from the north side of Prince George’s County filled in at Station 821 (Oxon Hill) on the south side. A Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department spokesman confirmed that appropriate action is being taken at the highest levels of PGFD after Ambulance 821 was placed out of service because the volunteer crew did not want to respond on ambulance runs. The allegations were made in an internal department document obtained by STATter911.com.
We now have an update on the story after a conversation this afternoon with the former volunteer chief at Oxon Hill, Eddie Hancock, who witnessed many of the events.
Let’s recap. Career firefighters are being removed from county stations on a rotating basis in an effort to drastically cut back on overtime costs. Since July 1, as many as seven stations at a time are being targeted. Acting County Fire Chief Eugene Jones’ plan relies on volunteer crews to fill in at stations where the career firefighters have been removed.
As we have been reporting, while some stations are able to provide volunteer staffing, many are unable to muster a crew. This effectively leaves that station closed. That has been the case at Station 821 where volunteer participation is low.
On the big details, Eddie Hancock’s version of events is very similar to the log we received that had been written by the career major in charge of operations on July 8. Hancock confirms the ambulance was placed out of service by someone at the station. That it twice had been ordered back in service by Volunteer Major James McClelland. When the ambulance went back in service the volunteer crew left the ambulance in the station and took the tower for a long visit to the other Oxon Hill station in Glassmanor (Station 842).
Where Hancock differs is his role in the events. Eddie Hancock said he had been asked by Oxon Hill VFD Chief Vincent Washington to come to the station during the 6:00 PM hour to go over the operation of Tower 821 with Vince Harrison. Harrison is the former chief of the Riverdale VFD (Station 807) and current co-chairman of the Prince George’s County Fire Commission. Harrison was scheduled to drive the fire equipment as part of a three-person crew that included two members of Bladensburg (Station 809).
According to Hancock, he got to the firehouse just before the arrival of Harrison. Hancock believes someone from the visiting crew placed the ambulance out of service. The first call from McClelland came to Hancock who said he was only there to provide some instructions on the tower and would soon be leaving, heading off to his regular job as a grocery store truck driver working the overnight shift.
Hancock also confirms that after the unit was not placed back in service a second call from McClelland went directly to Harrison. According to Hancock, it was only then that the ambulance was placed back in service. Hancock says a short-time later the three visiting firefighters took Tower 821 to Station 842. With just three people on board, the unit would be considered understaffed under PGFD rules.
Looking at the overall staffing issue, Eddie Hancock, who has been a volunteer at Oxon Hill since the early 1970s, is quite critical of the actions taken by PGFD to cut costs. Hancock said, “The public is being placed in jeopardy by this game of ‘Russian roulette.’”
Hancock says he is one of only about three volunteers who regularly ride at Station 821 and that the number of volunteers at Station 842 has also been decreasing.
Hancock provided a written explanation, along with his opinions of the events, for our comments section.
Also in our comments section, one writer made reference to an EMS call where a woman died that also occurred in the 6:00 PM hour on July 8 in Station 821’s first-due area. The implication was that this call was impacted by the actions of the fill-in crew at Station 821.
STATter911.com has been aware of that incident since Thursday and has been looking into it with the help of 9NEWS NOW reporter Scott Broom. The first 911 call for the emergency in the 7400 block of Oxon Hill Road was at 6:35 PM. Hancock believes that call happened prior to his and Vince Harrison’s arrival at Station 821.
The information we have been given provides no indication that Ambulance 821 was out of service when that run was dispatched. In fact, Engine 821 and Ambulance 821 were sent on the initial call along with an Engine from Station 832 (Allentown Road) and the medic and ambulance from Station 847 (Silesia).
Both units from Station 821 failed to respond. The best information we have is that the woman was dead on the scene and was not transported. Dispatch records show Engine 832 was the first unit on the scene, coming from about three times the distance as Station 821.
While it is clear the units available for that response was impacted by the removal of career staff at Station 821, so far, no one has provided evidence that shows any actions by the fill-in crew delayed the response.
STATter911.com has been trying since last Thursday to contact Vince Harrison and has also made calls to volunteer leadership in the county for comments about this situation.