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Fire/EMS meeting provides few answers to NW concerns
(Published July 26, 2004)

By ROBERT ARKELL
Staff Writer

Factional strife between the fire department and the union representing emergency medical personnel flared up before the public in a community meeting held July 20 at St. Columbia’s Church in Tenleytown.

Representatives from Emergency Medical Services Local 3721, led by union President Kenneth Lyons, charged fire officials with withholding funds and equipment allocated to EMS.

"This is a problem that has existed in the fire department for over 30 years," Lyons told assembled residents. "What you're seeing today is a culmination of that problem. You have 20,000 or more elderly individuals and 16 nursing homes [in Upper Northwest Washington]. We have one medic unit here. Is that a commitment? I don’t think it is," Lyons said.

Lyons said the solution rests in making EMS a third uniformed public safety service. He criticized the fire department's new plan to make firefighters become dual-role/cross-trained paramedics.

"Dual-role cross-training is simply training a firefighter to do paramedic work," he said. "Firefighters come here to fight fires ...No one should be saddled with that responsibility of making the choice (of either fighting a fire or helping a patient). A third service gives you...the best quality care. It’s time to take EMS seriously."

Fire Chief Adrian Thompson said that he was against any legislation that would make EMS an independent agency. A bill to separate ambulance service from the fire department is currently pending before D.C. City Council.

"A third service would split resources in the District," Thompson said. "We have an administration already in place with hired personnel who are training (firefighters) to become EMTs (emergency medical technicians)."

Thompson disputed Lyons' allegation that fire officials treat EMS personnel unfairly.

"I believe that officials in the fire department are committed to ... providing the best care and to treat both firefighters and EMS paramedics fairly," the chief said. "We don’t live in a perfect society. ...We come here to do a job, serve the public and go home. That’s the bottom line. That’s how it should be."

Residents of Upper Northwest Washington and EMS personnel aired their grievances about citywide ambulance service to Chief Thompson and Dr. Fernando Daniels, who heads the fire department's Emergency Medical Services, during a meeting that was sponsored by several Ward 3 groups. Ward 4 Councilman Adrian Fenty, who represents part of the Chevy Chase area, attended part of the meeting and also voiced his concerns.

"Upper Northwest has no medical transportation -- that's ridiculous," Fenty said. "We cannot have situations where Upper Northwest has no medical transportation. The fire department and EMS are obviously having some problems. ...From what we’ve been hearing tonight, there’s a lot that needs to be done."

Fenty also noted that splitting a city agency to provide better service has already been done, for example with the Department of Public Works.

"I will say that most of them work more efficiently when they have their own agency director and when that agency director is confirmed by the council," Fenty said.

Paramedic Cynthiana Lightfoot said that the decision to change fire and EMS rests with the community.

"Is your priority quality care and the delivery of care or is it something else? At this point in time, I think that decision needs to be made by the public. You are the consumer of this product. You are the ones who will live or die based on the decisions made by the officials in this agency," Lightfoot said.

When one resident asked if the fire department would be prepared to deal with a citywide medical emergency or a terrorist attack, Lyons and Thompson clashed again.

"EMS providers have not received the funds or the equipment to provide the right amount of care," Lyons said. "We are as unprepared today as we were prior to 9/11."

Thompson responded by asserting that the department is currently "the best equipped and best trained in the history of the fire department. Can we handle a (citywide) situation if it occurs? Yes we can."

Jeffrey Gildenhorn, owner of American City Diner who represented the business community on the meeting's panel, expressed his frustration after listening to the dispute over the fire department’s ability to respond to a citywide emergency.

"We have two warring factions at this table," he said. "If these two factions don’t resolve their problems, then we’re all going to be out of business."