Posted on 02/21/2014 11:47:15 AM PST by jazusamo
Five firefighters and four emergency dispatchers will face discipline over the poor handling and lack of response to an incident in which firefighters did not come to the aid of a man who collapsed across the street from a D.C. fire station, according to a report released Friday.
The 13-page internal report issued by Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Paul A. Quander Jr. lays the blame on both the trained medical personnel inside the fire station who refused to come to the aid of a man who was suffering from a heart attack as well as on emergency dispatchers, who after receiving calls about the incident sent responders to an address in the wrong quadrant of the city.
The report states there were “substantial lapses in judgment and the failure to adhere to established policy and procedures” and highlights the step-by-step mistakes that led to the failed response.
Medric Cecil Mills Jr., 77, died last month of a heart attack after collapsing at a shopping center across the street from Engine 26 in Northeast in an incident that drew national headlines and outraged Mayor Vincent C. Gray, who demanded an immediate investigation. Bystanders and the man’s family members ran across the street pleading for help at the fire station, but ultimately no firefighters came to Mills‘ aid.
~snip~
Lt. Kellene L. Davis, who was in charge of the station during that shift, wrote in a special report obtained previously by The Washington Times that the lack of response was the fault of a subordinate, who she said failed to tell her the location of the emergency.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
They were in the same quarters and the incident was across the street, a language barrier? /sarc
But hey, the police and firefighters are there to protect us so there is no need to worry, be happy.
Race! What race are they / were they?
They’re all heroes, remember?
Read the article. DC doesn’t have to do squat. The lawyer’s moaning about not being able to sue the city.
You’re right but in my experience whether they can be sued or not doesn’t excuse that crew from ignoring that dying person across the street.
Every member of that crew should be fired for blowing that incident off, of course they won’t be.
That's right. EMS, fire and police personnel do NOT have a duty to protect you.
A lot of them are, sadly there are also a lot of them that don't give a cr@$ that give the others a bad rap.
The crew has absolutely no defense. They were notified in person. I’m curious about the ethnicities involved. Is Kellene a man’s name or woman’s?
I can see the probie listening to orders. They were subsequently transferred which is interesting. Something went on that wasn’t right.
Yes, something stinks. The Lt. is a female and for whatever reason she blew it off, if the subordinate didn’t give her the location she should have asked for it.
You’re correct about the probie and I shouldn’t have included s/he in the firing because a probie can’t say squat but the others can. There was something going on that they didn’t want to be interrupted, in my view.
It is inexcusable. But there are explanations in this litiguous society and in the paramilitary structure of emergency services:
1) Fear of liability (both individual and DC) if they failed to follow the procedure of being dispatched via 911.
2) Fear of disiciplinary action against individuals had they acted outside of the chain of command, which might well include a 911 dispatch message.
Sucks.
I’m not saying you’re wrong because I’m not familiar with the fire service in the East.
In the West the departments I was familiar with responded on any “still” alarm and informed the dispatcher after they started the response. A still alarm would include a citizen coming to the station or flagging down a rig out in the district of and incident.
for those that don’t know, the DC FD has been under scrutiny and and even a mutiny over the past few years with mayor Grey’s commish.
They didn’t have operating trucks, they didn’t have operating ambulances and at one point, more were up on blocks being picked for parts than were up and running. But since he’s black, nobody in the local media will really call his competence into question except the union, the individual firefighters, the EMTs and city board members.
I fully expect this to be brushed into the ever growing pile under the DC rug because this idiot of a mayor likes to get arrested protesting the constitution every two years. This is what happens when a locality allows the teachers union to elect a candidate.
No, it’s the same here. If there’s a walk-in, the crew will notify dispatch, grab their equipment, and do their job.
Thanks , that’s what I expected.
Not as rare as some may think. I was witness to two separate incidents that was life threating where the fire ambulance squad would not respond until a cop showed up to approve it. The fire house was a block away in each case.
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