Sometime in the late 1970s Winfield Kelly decided it was an insult to refer to Prince George's County as "PG County" or just "PG." County Executive Kelly was the first of many to try and get us to stop saying "PG". To this day I can't understand why the shorthand is a slight to the people who live in the county.
Being a somewhat rebellious county employee I always made sure I used "PG Fire" and not "Prince George's" when talking on the mutual aid channel as a dispatcher.
I couldn't get away with it in my TV job starting sometime in the late 90s, almost 20 years after Winfield Kelly left office. Someone convinced management that it was politically incorrect to call it "PG". If that is so, why does the fire department to this day use the logo "PGFD"?
Is it also an affront to the residents of the District of Columbia to hear the Nation's Capital referred to by people all across the country as "DC"?
Which is a roundabout way to bring you the story by my friend Melanie Alnwick at WTTG-TV (having watched the station since the days of Captain Tugg I can't bring myself to say or write the more recent "Fox 5"). The story is about an identity crisis for the District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department.
I think it was sometime in the late 1990s (could have been later) that those on the EMS side of the house convinced me I was not being very accurate in my reporting when I talked about the "DC Fire Department" or the "DC Fire Chief". The issue wasn't "DC". The agency's name had been changed to include "EMS" and I wasn't keeping up with the times in my reports. I tried to ignore the complaint because it was easier to say "DC Fire". I was also somewhat of a traditionalist. And I could argue "DC Fire" was the term most people, including the citizens, used and understood. But in the end, I realized they were right and I was wrong. It was the correct name and it described accurately the role of the agency.
Melanie's story is about the a more recent name change. At some point after the move to the "District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department" the bureaucrats in the District government started referring to the agency by the acronym FEMS. It made it easier for the government's internal communications and has been slowly creeping into its external communications like the city website.
I never once said "FEMS" on the air or wrote it in my copy for the Internet, even though people like City Council member Phil Mendelson use it all of the time in public hearings. The reason I never used it is because those watching the TV report would be scratching their heads asking what the hell I was talking about. I'd be willing to bet good money that if you stopped 100 people randomly on the streets of DC almost no one could tell you what FEMS is.
That hasn't stopped the new administration in the city from starting to push the name FEMS. That's what Melanie's story is about.
Good luck to them. I think the city will need a giant advertising budget if they want the public to understand FEMS and start identifying fire and EMS services by that name. It might be real confusing for tourists. But that is just my opinion after covering the department and the city for more than three decades. For all I know the administration of Mayor Vincent Gray has done focus groups that indicate FEMS is the answer and is a short way to communicate the mission of the agency. (After this column was posted, the unsolicited reaction I've received from those not associated with fire and EMS has been consistant. All believe it may a better name for a product associated with women than a way to identify first responders. It would be interesting to learn whether an unbiased focus group produces similar results.)
Still, I can't imagine when we will hear the first citizen say, "Call FEMS I'm having a heart attack" or "Call FEMS the house is on fire". The public understands "fire", "ambulance", "911" and possibly "EMS". FEMS will probably take a lot of training. Just remember, 35-years later and many of us are still calling it "PG".
Also on STATter911 …
- President Obama gets DCFD T-shirt at ACFD firehouse. Firefighter hands it over at veterans’ job initiative announcement. – February 4, 2012
- Paramedic shortage in Nation’s Capital. TV station reports medics leaving DC at high rate due to overwork & stress. – November 5, 2012
- ‘Pay for spray’ update: Tennessee’s South Fulton FD says it was not on scene of controversial fire. Local chief says Kentucky company got close but had no authority to act. – December 9, 2011
- Can’t anyone get it right around here? For third time in just 24 hours Chief Kenneth Ellerbe says DC reporters got a story wrong. – February 23, 2013
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How come the Chief isin't posting on here like he does on other websites??
DCFD Employ,
You think that I have to have at least 10 years on the job before I can speak up for myself? 10 years?! So folks with anything less should just shut up and take it, huh? 5 years of service to the citizens of DC means nothing to you? Just to let you know, probation ends after your first year (or 18 months for some of the new guys).
And I did go to property. I thought I would replace shirts that had holes and buttons missing. I took 4 shirts and was told they could only give out 2 and no short sleeves until April 1st. Why not give me what I need? Do they not have enough to supply everyone? Maybe the Chief should have thought of that. And the shirts I was given had the "Ruben patch" on it. They gave me new patches but I have to pay for them to be put on OUT OF MY OWN POCKET! If that is the case, then just let me wear the DCFD t-shirts that I have already payed for. And that "free button up shirt" isn't going to be all that comfortable in 90+ degree weather on a fire ground or on a medical in a home with no A/C. Where are you assigned that you don't have to put a turnout coat on or where every home is a comfortable temp?
Speaking of assignments, most guys on the job find a sense of pride in where they are assigned and like to display it on them somewhere. This goes right along with morale. Trying to take company pride out of the job is just another jab at an already low morale.
And yes, I know that his Order has already been held in abeyance for 120 days but I'd still love a response from you DCFD Employee. But maybe you stopped reading after I said I only have 5 years on the job.
A fire chief who left the department with an agreement that allowed him to "be shared with" another department, all so he could try to illegally collect over $600,000 in additional retirement, while not paying taxes on his "home" in DC because he was living in FLA and his "accountant was supposed to do it", now has the gall to:
Change the traditional patch as a matter of "DC pride" simply because there is no DC flag in it
Change the name (and pride and tradition) associated with "DC Fire Department" by taking DC and Fire Department out of the name. (So much for "DC pride I guess)
Suggest changing the schedule to punish those who dare to live outside (or simply can not afford to raise families inside) the city they put their lives on the line for every day they come to work (under the guise of budget concerns)
Suggest not reducing overtime by simply letting engines, trucks, and squads run out the door short staffed despite decades of research that show doing so is more dangerous and less effective.
Ironically, none of these things will improve the department. The name and patch changes have no positive effect whatsoever, will end up costing thousands of dollars to "rebrand" all apparatus, fleet vehicles, and officially issued gear, but will destroy morale among the members of the department. Layoffs and short staffing will do nothing but make it harder to do our job and will offer only obstacles to overcome, not tools to be more effective. And while "rebranding" to "include" EMS more may sound nice (and be easier, not to mention cheaper than actual improvements), the only way to truly improve EMS would be to improve the actual training provided, holding providers to a higher standard then they are currently held, finding non-punative ways to improve the skills of those whose previous poor training leave them in need of improvement, improving the quality and availability of classroom based and hands on EMS based continuing education provided to the department, instead of relying on hands off, internet based slideshows, and actually finding a way to get all of the drugs and equipment that we need to actually even be able to carryout our own current protocols.
And when he does order those layoffs, maybe he can use some of the money he made in pension while working in Sarasota before his little scheme was discovered to pay for the food for the children of the employees he laid off. When someone's house burns down because the closest companies were all responding short staffed, maybe he can use some of the departmental "savings" to rebuild it for them. When someone dies because staffing rules mean the response time for adequately staffed units is increased, hopefully he will be able to avoid a costly lawsuit. And when one of our brothers/sisters (a concept Im not sure he even understands since it isn't in the order book) loses their life, hopefully he will give a nice eulogy and honor their willingness to sacrifice their life for our budget.
As a matter of reality, nothing will change. No matter what he does to try to destroy our pride, no matter how much more difficult and dangerous he makes our job, we will continue to respond as we always have, putting our lives on the line and providing the highest quality Fire suppression and EMS care we know how for the residents and visitors of the nations capital. After all, we will be here for our entire careers, fire chiefs come and go. Hopefully when he leaves, we can get someone in charge who actually cares about their men and the job they do, not a corrupt, vindictive budgetary yes man who knows nothing else but how to say yes to the mayor to which he owes his job.
Where is the Rube when you need him? Haha
San Francisco Fire Department
Los Angeles Fire Department
Chicago Fire Department
Fire Department of New York
All examples (and there are plenty more) of fire departments rich in tradition who somehow manage to include EMS into their agencies mission without feeling the need to change their name and/or uniform every time a fire chief sneezes. What purpose does changing the name and official patch serve? It will not improve EMS service. Only better training and resource management will do that. It will not change the "culture" of the department. On the contrary, it will only serve to demoralize even the large number of members who fully embrace and excel at their EMS role. It will not save money, but instead it will actually cost the department thousands of dollars that could be put to much better use elsewhere.
But the real kicker is that it in addition to costing the department money, it will cost the members money out of their own pockets to remain in compliance with the new rules. If the department actually issues t shirts, rain gear, winter gear, hats, etc like most departments do it would be one thing, if they issue it it can say whatever they want, but the department does not do that.
So what are my options? I can spend hundreds of dollars on new "compliant" t-shirts, rain gear, and winter gear, or I can swelter in the summer under a non NFPA compliant button down, get soaked in the rain, and freeze in the winter.
The department would tell you I can simply wear my turnout gear in the rain/cold, but I would rather not wear such a smelly, smoke and grime covered jacket into anyones house, and I sure don't want to wear it in the pouring rain, increasing my chances for steam burns If I happen to go to a fire before it can dry.
I will wear whatever they issue me regardless of what it says, but if I am spending so much as a dime out of my own pocket I guarantee it will be keeping with tradition and proudly continue to read DCFD on the back.
You all are a bunch of cry babies!!!!!
"You all are a bunch of cry babies!!!!!"
There isn't anything more specific that you want to say? Anything about how this would be good for the department or citzens?
No?! Ok… Thanks for the input.
From what I've seen DC Fire/EMS/Your Name Goes Here has much more serious problems to correct than what to be called. Maybe they should spend more time, money, and effort in correcting the horrible patient care we keep reading about. Otherwise, they will likely continue to be known by the name "The defendant".
""You all are a bunch of cry babies!!!!!"
There isn't anything more specific that you want to say? Anything about how this would be good for the department or citzens?
No?! Ok… Thanks for the input"
What would "be good for the department or citzens" is for you to continue to do your job regardless of what it says on the back of your t-shirt. "Don't take my t-shirt" "Don't take my patch" "Don't take my shorts" wah, wah, wah,
Remember that long line you stood in to get your "Dream Job"? To fulfill your "Calling"? Well all of the people that were standing with you who didn't make it would love to step in and take your place and wouldn't care hat it says on the back of their t-shirt or patch.
Cry Babies
Remember that long line you stood in to get your "Dream Job"? To fulfill your "Calling"? Well all of the people that were standing with you who didn't make it would love to step in and take your place and wouldn't care hat it says on the back of their t-shirt or patch.
They should have studied harder and scored better than me if they wanted it that badly.
He told Mendleson trucks "never" ran on 4. I'd be interested to know Mendleson's thoughts if he found out that Ellerbe, himself, cut trucks from 5 to 4 when he was interim chief following Tommy Tippitt's retirement. Sounds like he'd be caught in a blatent lie!
"Chief" Ellerbe…I once saw a youtube video where you said you were going to "level the playing field". What you HAVE done is bulldoze the stadium and sell the team!
They could change it to Burtonsville Fire Dept
Those two hatters from Burtonsville are no longer at Burtonsville, they all quit since they were told they had to follow the rules. Bam Bam (Jerry Engles little retarded tattoo brother) you suck.,and all the other idiots from BVFD that quit.
Look at it the bright side – In gay circles, FEMS are the feminine, or bottom partner in a relationship. The department formerly known as DCFD may become national leaders in outreach to the gay community, not mention the firemen making some new friends.
FEMS
Fire and Emergency Management Services
me says
They should have studied harder and scored better than me if they wanted it that badly.
Your screen name says it all…….it's all about ME!!!
me says
They should have studied harder and scored better than me if they wanted it that badly.
Your screen name says it all…….it's all about ME!!!
I guess that makes you, using your logic, a nobody.
I guess that makes you, using your logic, a nobody.
And that makes you…….a cry baby.
I'm curious how you reached that conclusion. You were the one crying about how the dumb people deserve a job.
The criticism in comments posted does speak of some merit. However the bottom Line here,is the Fire Chief has mased a decision. Whether or not it is believed or perceived as a revenge tactic against what Chief Rubin did is really not important now. The one issue at hand which can,and in all probability may/can create some confusion with on scene operations. By that One is referring to Washington DC is and has always been a Federal City. This is one of the critical issues that has stalled in Congress in allowing District of Columbia the well deserved State Hood. Ok now, being a Federal City obviously the central Federal Government has quite a few Fedseral Buildings/Facilities within DC. With today's society of unrest and possible Terroist Acitivities the Federal Government has and will deploy Key Personnel and Operational Agencies in any event of ant type of Structure Fire, suspected explosive devices and the like. ie; FBI-ATF-FEMA- and now FEMS. this can cause confusion with misunderstood/misperceptions of on going Decisons by those in Command. When/not if the media recognizes the respective agencies and similar I dentification ie; FEMA/FEMS there is the issue of something occurring where perhaps any direction ordered may result in a loss of Accountability. These issues may apprear unimportant on the initial onset. One can only hope that strict direction/orders are forth coming to avoid any distraction with Identification. Also the comments about Burtonsville VFD are obviously spoken by a loyal IAFF Person. Those comments are completely out of line and uncalled for.
Thank You
Me says
I'm curious how you reached that conclusion. You were the one crying about how the dumb people deserve a job
Never cried…..not once. Nor did I state that anyone deserved a job. I stated that there were many out there who are willing to take your place. Looks like you're the "dumb" one.
The re-branding is a bad idea. The way things have been working well in recent years regarding the agency's name (DC Fire and EMS), it's acronym (DCFD), it's patch, etc. All this did is cause division and controversy where there was none.
Even if the chief wanted to go back to the former patch, that isn't a big deal. Though, do it like we've handled changing patches before where the replaced patch gets phased out. In the past you could still wear the old patch for at least a certain period before it could not be worn anymore. I don't know what the time frame should be, but a year would be reasonable so the members can get more wear out of all the things they paid for to wear at work. Sometimes when the department changed patches they wouldn't change them on the existing apparatus in the fleet and would only put the new patch on any new apparatus. That also saved money from having to change over all of the vehicles in the department's fleet.
The re-branding won't affect they way the members do their job (other than the aspects which can be affected by lowering the workforce's morale). The firefighters have accepted the fact that EMS is a part of their job, and they are doing a good job at carrying out their EMS responsibilities. The firefighters are responding to calls quickly, they are taking care of the EMS units they ride, they are providing good medical care, they are treating the patients well, and they make sure they get back in service in a proper amount of time from the hospital. Some think that we must change the name to make the firefighters accept EMS and do that part of their job well. But that is a fallacy as the firefighters are already doing that.
Why not change DCFD to DCED, meaning District of Columbia Emergency Department. That way employees could take a magic marker and easily change the F to an E on their uniforms. But your point about the public being confused is the best reason not to proceed with the name change. In the city of acronyms, FEMS could be mistaken in DC for a lobbying group. FEMS is a bad idea. A very bad idea.
Feel fresh…feel confident……..use FEMS . Now available at your neighborhood CVS
Will the Chief be referring to himself as "Chief FEMS", "Chief of FEMS", or "FEMS Chief"?
FEMS = FU$@ EMS