A Washington D.C. deputy chief of the fleet maintenance division has retired after inaccurate information regarding the department’s fleet was submitted to the D.C. Council at a recent performance hearing, reports the Washington Post.
华盛顿特区消防队长肯尼斯·b·Ellerbe承认d the inaccuracy, which involved data on the number and readiness of fleet vehicles that officials submitted to the council’s Judiciary and Public Safety Committee last month. He said that an “old fleet schedule” had been submitted.
The union representing firefighters challenged that information and discovered that department leaders overestimated the inventory of available and reserve apparatus.
“As a result of this oversight and inaccurate communication . . . the Deputy Chief has informed me of his decision to retire, which I have accepted,” Ellerbe’s statement said.
Ellerbe also cited problems with overtime expenditures in that division as a reason for the deputy chief’s retirement. Spokesman Lon Walls declined to identify the deputy chief.
Edward C. Smith, president of the firefighters union, said one of his members compared the inventory information that was given to the council committee with vehicle identification numbers to compile a list of available vehicles.
Among the findings, Smith said, four of 29 truck companies the department said were available either as front-line status or as reserves were unavailable. He said two were sold by the city and two others were out of service, one since 2010.
Smith said that his staff had just begun its analysis and that at least a half-dozen engine pumpers the department said were available were not. “We haven’t even got to the ambulances yet,” he said.
The department has been embroiled in controversy after several mismanaged incidents in recent months that are under review and reports of unacceptable response times by city ambulances.
Early this month, a D.C. police officer who suffered a broken leg after being struck by a hit-and-run vehicle waited 15 minutes for an ambulance from Prince George’s County. On New Year’s Day, a heart attack victim died after waiting 29 minutes for an ambulance.
Ellerbe said in his statement that he agreed with the union assessment and that he personally called Smith to thank the union for pointing out the discrepancies.
“I want to thank the firefighters’ union for bringing this inaccurate information to our attention,” he wrote.
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