An unattended candle is believed to have started a fire in a 1st floor apartment in the 900 block of 5th Street in Laurel today about 1:30 pm.
A Laurel City Police Officer spotted a column of smoke and discovered the fire. He notified his dispatcher and proceeded to search for occupants. The apartment was unoccupied.
Firefighters arrived to extinguish a bedroom fire within 7 minutes of arrival. One of 3 pet box turtles was found and returned to the owner.
Two occupants of the apartment which is one of four in this 2-story apartment building will be displaced and assisted by our Citizen Services Unit.
Preliminary fire loss is estimated at $25, 000. No injuries reported.
Video above and immediately below by Billy McNeel (Billy McNeel) from this evening’s wind whipped building fire in Laurel, Maryland. Additional video below by Laurel PIO Pete Piringer (the headline of this story really should have been that Pete knows how to take video and upload to YouTube).
The fire was at the Laurel Oil and Heating Company. Just before 9:00 PM PGFD Chief Marc Bashoor tweeted the following:
On scene Laurel Fuel Co fire – no hazmat ACTUALLY involved. Under control
Firefighters battled a fire at the Laurel Fuel Oil and Heating Company on Wednesday evening that caused significant damage to the business. At around 7:00 pm firefighter/medics were alerted to a building fire at 101 Main Street. Fire/EMS units arrived on the scene to find a 2-story building with offices on the first floor and an apartment on the second floor with an attached 100 X 75 garage with fire showing from the garage.
A “Task Force” was sounded bringing additional firefighters, support vehicles and incident commanders to the scene.
It was quickly determined that the garage housed three home heating oil delivery trucks. First arriving firefighters attempted an initial interior attack on the fire and then evacuated the building to regroup. The bulk of the fire was knocked down from the exterior using master stream devices before returning to an interior attack. It required about 45 minutes for 75 firefighters to knock down the fire. Firefighter/Medics from Prince George’s, Montgomery, Howard and Anne Arundel Counties operated on the fire ground.
One firefighter sustained a shoulder injury while battling the fire. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The cause of the fire is under investigation with a preliminary fire loss estimated at $750,000 for the building and it’s contents.
A large fire broke out in a garage at a Laurel oil and heating business Wednesday evening, forcing authorities to shut down parts of Route 1 in the city, officials said.
Firefighters responded to the Laurel Oil and Heating Company in the 100 block of Main Street about 7 p.m. and found heavy fire in a garage that houses fuel trucks, said Mark Brady, a Prince George’s County fire department spokesman.
The business was closed at the time of the fire. No injuries were reported.
From City of Laurel spokesman Pete Piringer (description with Pete’s YouTube clips above & below):
Just before 7p on Wednesday, March 6, units from the Laurel VFD and Laurel Rescue Squad were dispatched to 101 Main St for a building fire. Approx 100 firefighters from PG, Montgomery, Anne Arundel & Howard Counties responded. There were no injuries. The fire involved a garage area attached to the Laurel Heating & Fuel Company. Damage is significant.
For those interested in how fire departments and other public agencies communicate with the press and the public there was a fascinating exchange (above) at yesterday's regularly scheduled press briefing by District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray. The press was in somewhat open rebellion about a couple of policies of the DC government that seem to contradict Mayor Gray's pledge of an open and transparent administration.
It started with a question by WJLA-TV reporter Suzanne Kennedy about two recent moves by city officials. One was the encryption of all radio communications for the Metropolitan Police Department (DC Police) and the other, the halting of a very active and popular Twitter feed by the DC Fire & EMS Department that alerted the press and the public to fires, accidents, shootings and other emergencies that fire and ems crews responded to.
The Twitter account had almost 10,000 followers and had provided more than 11,000 Tweets. It had become a primary alerting source for the news media and private citizens. The last Tweet was on August 30. Shortly after the Tweets stopped the police department began encrypting its radio traffic with the justification that smart phone apps allow criminals to listen in on the department's communications much in the way radio scanners have done for decades.
So, the news media and the public lost two important sources that helped them provide oversight of city officials and operations.
Let's make it clear that the best we can tell these both are legal and lawful policies of the District of Columbia government. It is within the rights of city officials to take these actions. There is no law that requires them to maintain a Twitter account or keep their radio communications open. But is this a smart route to go if you want to have transparent and open government in the 21st Century?
Then there is the reaction, not just from the press, but by the public, via Twitter, over the loss of Tweets from @dcfireems and the comments made by the DC Fire & EMS Department's Director of Communications Lon Walls (click here and scroll down). Many blasted Walls for believing that "social media is for parties". In the Washington Times and DCist.com articles you will see Walls is not a fan of Twitter.
Also, take the time to read the column below posted yesterday by Gerald Baron on his blog Crisis Comm for the site Emergency Management. Gerald is a respected leader in the world of crisis communications who wrote the book I often quote, Now is Too Late. The column also mentions something we have covered numerous times on STATter911.com. That is the interference by public safety officials of picture taking by the public and press. We previously posted two such incidents involving DC Police officers that occurred this year (I have added the video below of those stories).
Here's my brief message on this to the administration of Mayor Gray and anyone else who has the responsibility of communicating with the public for routine every day events and in times of crisis. That little thing in everyone's hands that always seems to be a part of their body is how most people get their news these days. It's also how they share news with others, whether it's taking pictures with the camera that is a part of it or using the applications on it like Twitter and Facebook. Those people who are constantly holding and operating these devices are the people you serve and the people who pay your salaries. They want and expect to know what's going on almost instantly via that device. The city has the opportunity to be a valued, trusted and instant source of information that their citizens can rely on every day and in times of major emergencies. And a source that reaches directly to the public without first having to go through the news media. Don't deride it, don't confiscate it, don't ignore it. Instead, embrace it and the reality of how people now communicate.
But enough from me. Here are some words on this subject from a real expert::
This story sort of makes me wonder if DC Mayor Vincent Gray has his communication staff learning cuneiform writing. First this blog post arrived concerning the Mayor's press conference in which he announced that the DC Police would be using encrypted radio, and that the Fire and EMS Service would be in future "filtering" their Twitter feeds. HuffPost reported on the clamp down of communication in this article.
It's really quite bizarre. Every after action report of any consequence of major events highlights the need for interoperable communication and by encrypting all radio messages they certainly have sent interoperability concerns into the closet. Maybe there is sufficient safety justification, I hope so, because if this trend continues the history of major event management shows that lives will be lost because of interoperability issues.
But my primary concern is shutting down Twitter. @dcfireems has been a very popular means of communicating in DC about emergency events. With nearly 10,000 followers it is very clear that it has become the primary means used by DC media to keep the public informed, but equally important is the fact that the public itself is kept informed through those tweets.
In talking with a source close to these matters in DC, it appears that the encrypted radio decision and putting the brakes on Twitter are related and both coming from DC Police. As DC Police moved toward keeping their communication under wraps, it was troubling them that Fire EMS service was tweeting openly about things–some of which involved police. So they felt they couldn't keep the wraps on their communication and allow a sister agency to keep talking. This move by DC Police is in addition to their apparent policy of confiscating the phones of citizen journalists documenting arrests for the apparent purpose of capturing evidence. This is deeply troubling.
Needless to say, those following the Twitter account are not happy–both reporters and the public. The Twitter conversation gives an indication of their thoughts on this.
However, the announcement about this compounded the problem by being less than transparent and honest. The last tweet from Fire/EMS as I understand it was August 31. Initially it was explained that this was because the tweeter, Pete Piringer, had gone on vacation. Then in the press conference it was explained that it was shut down because it had imperiled the operation of another (apparently federal) agency. The real explanation, provided by my source, was only hinted at–that police want to keep the wraps on things.
What absolutely amazes and appalls me coming from communicators in our nation's capital are comments like these:
"After the press conference, Lon Walls, the department's communication director and a former journalist himself, said that accuracy was vital. "I'd rather be slow and right than fast and wrong," he said.
"Social media is for parties. We ain't givin' parties," he added, arguing that safety and sensitive issues had to be considered before tweeting out information on emergencies."
Social media is for parties? I'd rather be slow? Break out the clay tablets, boys and girls. No doubt there are operational concerns with tweeting, no doubt policies and controls need to apply, no doubt mistakes can easily be made with serious consequences. But because cars cause accidents doesn't mean we go back to horses and buggies. I certainly hope DC gets their inter-agency disagreements under control and some leadership is shown about today's realities of public communication.
Above is a June 19 story about a camera confiscated by DC Police after a citizen took pictures of an arrest on a public street.
Above is a story about a July 3 incident where DC Police confronted a man taking pictures of a traffic stop.
Image from Google Maps Streetview of the quarters of Engine 33, Truck 8, Ambulance 33 & Medic 33 at 101 Atlantic Street in Southeast Washington.
Previous coverage of DC firefighter crime watch here & here
As many of you know firefighters from the DC Fire & EMS Department have been ordered on crime prevention detail with orders to show up at some crime hot spots around town at all hours of the day. It has been a controversial program with IAFF Loal 36 battling Chief Kenneth Ellerbe and top city officials over the wisdom and safety of such a program.
Early Tuesday morning, Engine 33 firefighters returned from a call to their firehouse at 101 Atlantic St. SE to find it ransacked, with a BMW automobile, a firefighter's uniform and other valuables stolen. Thieves had forced their way into the station, trashed the watch desk, and stole a range of gear and personal property.
Also missing were keys, wallets and a camera, according to the police report. The ripped-off BMW was the personal car of a firefighter.
Spokesman Pete Piringer say the crime patrols are continuing. He told McCabe:
"I would like to think that we've made the neighborhoods better from our efforts," Piringer said. "It's been pretty well received in most communities."
A fire broke out Wednesday at about 12:45 p.m. in the 3200 block of M Street in the Georgetown section of the city.
According to DC Fire and EMS, the fire was at the Hook restaurant at 3241 M Street.
Units arrived on the scene with heavy fire and smoke showing from the building and fire coming from the roof. A second alarm was called as a precaution just before 1 p.m.
The fire was knocked down just after 1 p.m. and according to Pete Piringer there are no injuries.
Two neighboring restaurants, the Salon and the Tackle Box, suffered some damage.
Above is raw video from DC Fire & EMS Department videographer Vito Maggiolo taken during a fire yesterday afternoon at the Zeta Beta Tau house at George Washington University. Spokesman Pete Piringer wrote on Twitter early this morning that the fire at 605 21st Street, Northwest started in a bathroom ceiling on the top floor and was electrical in nature. Damage is estimated at $100,000.
Many of the students had already moved out, but the fire was discovered when a student moving in smelled smoke in the building.
Piringer says it took firefighters time to find where the fire was burning. They discovered the blaze in the walls and into the attic. No one was injured. Damage at the house is significant, making it uninhabitable.
Piringer says the fire appears to be accidental, but authorities are still investigating the cause.
Pete Piringer, spokesman for the D.C. fire and emergency medical services department, said the “significant fire” at 605 21st Street erupted within the upper walls of the townhouse, on the second and third floors and in the attic.
Firefighters inside the townhouse could not immediately detect where the fire was located, Piringer said, but noted heavy smoke.
He said a preliminary investigation led firefighters to believe there was “burning for a while, undetected in the walls.” It took 15 to 20 minutes for officers “to get a handle” because the fire “wasn’t outwardly visible,” Piringer said.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue have released the 9-1-1 call from Monday's amazing river rescue after a woman was thrown from her kayak on the Potomac.
We still don't know a lot about the woman, except for the fact that she's 31-years-old and lives in Woodbridge.
But Wednesday, we have a much better idea what she was going through when she was suddenly separated from her kayak on a fast-moving stretch of the Potomac near Dickerson, Md.
The call was made by a bird watcher who was standing on the banks of the river and saw the whole thing happen.
Recent rains in the Washington area have sent the Potomac River out of its banks. The two big stories so far are the rescue of a woman caught on video in Montgomery County, Maryland and the flooding of the Georgetown waterfront in DC.
Some businesses in the Washington Harbor area of the Georgetown waterfront were evacuated as a precaution about 10 a.m., said Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the D.C. fire department. The department shut off gas and electric utilities between 8 and 9 a.m., as rising water flooded the basement and parking garage, submerging some parked cars.
Katherine Siahaan, who works at Gelateria Dolce Vita and arrived about 7:30 a.m., said “We didn’t think it was going to be any trouble, but the water kept rising.” By 10 a.m., barstools and a cash register were floating around inside the shop.
Tony and Joe’s restaurant sustained the most damage, Piringer said. Most of the damage could have been avoided had the floodwall been in place, he said.
“We were quite surprised when we arrived on the scene and the floodwall wasn’t erected,” Piringer said. Around noon, with the help of a crane, the floodwall was raised.
Lt. Robert "Cadillac" Alvarado is the latest of five DC firefighters injured in Friday's fire on 48th Street, Northeast to be released form the Medstar Burn at the Washington Hospital Center.
Also this evening, IAFF Local 36 is making the case that because three of the city's 16 ladder trucks (Trucks 10, 11 & 16) were out of service at the time of the fire due to maintenance problems it impacted response times. Union President Ed Smith says a combination of transfers to cover the city due to the missing trucks and another working fire caused delays. Smith believes ongoing maintenance issues for the ladder trucks are a big safety problem for firefighters and the public. Here are excerpts from the story by Tom Howell Jr:
Mr. Smith said it is unclear whether anything would have turned out differently at the Deanwood fire — ladder crews may have been able to ventilate the structure or remove security bars from the windows sooner, he noted — but it highlights the burden created by absent trucks.
Pete Piringer, a spokesman for D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said response times to the Deanwood incident were within the acceptable range and there was no gap in service.
Union leaders said the District’s aging ladder trucks frequently go out of service, while limited reserve trucks are often in disrepair or tied up on other calls. The problem did not happen overnight, but needs to be addressed in the fiscal 2012 budget before the fire department gets further behind, Mr. Smith said.
Local 36 provided an update this evening about the two remaining members in the Burn Unit, Firefighter Chucky Ryan and Lt. Ramon Hounshell:
As of 1900 hrs. today, two of the members have been released from the Burn Center at Washington Hospital Center. The remaining two members have both been through surgery, and are recovering peacefully in their respective recovery rooms. Local 36 graciously thanks the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation, for their enduring support of these members and their families from the first few moments after the incident on 48th Pl. NE., providing watchmen over the members during their hospital stays, arranging transportation to and from the Burn Center, and arranging for lodging for family members near the Burn Center – all on a voluntary basis by the members of the Foundation. The DC Firefighters Burn Foundation was formed seven years ago, by members of the DCFD who recognized a chance to support other department members during their time of need. As with many organizations focusing on the department, it's strength depends on the commitment of it's members. If you are interested in becoming a member of the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation, or would like to contribute financial assistance, please visit their homepage, and contact their Board of Directors, or simply ask another member around the firehouse. Local 36 would like to express our deep gratitude to them, for readily providing the information necessary to keep our other members informed over the last 5 days, and for the enduring support they have provided for the last seven years.
DC Fire & EMS spokesman Pete Piringer said it took firefighters 15-20 minutes to put the fire out at the Lowest Price Gas Station at the corner of Wisconsin Ave. and Q St., NW.
The fire caused significant damage to the building, a car inside the building and one car outside the building. Two nearby restaurants also suffered damage from the fire.
Piringer said investigators believe the fire was accidental. They said technicians were working on a gas tank in a vehicle with a space heater nearby, and it’s believed the fumes from the space heater ignited the gasoline fumes.
Three people were evaluated, one for smoke inhalation, but all three people refused transport.
We had posted an earlier video from this two-alarm apartment building fire on Tuesday at 1332 D Street in Southeast Washington. This one gives a close-up view of the operation.
This is an earlier clip from one of a pair of two alarm fires yesterday in Washington, DC. It is almost 11 minutes of raw video that starts as the first lines are stretched at 1666 Fort Davis Place, SE for a fire that began in the basement of a home. You can also hear fireground audio with this video.
Above is video by dcfdrescue on YouTube of a two-alarm fire around 2:00 PM today at 1666 Fort Davis Place, SE. The fire was in the basement and spread to the first floor. Spokesman Pete Piringer says on the department’s Twitter feed that the fire started because of an electrical problem and caused about $300,000 in damage.
Piringer said first arriving units had a significant amount of fire on the second floor of a two-story garden-style apartment building.
The fire quickly spread to the attic, Piringer said, and a second alarm was quickly sounded.
Just before 10:00 AM there was a fire in a commercial building in the 2100 block of P Street, NW. More from WUSA9.com’s Raul Rivero:
DC Fire and EMS officials say that a fire broke out at around 9:50 AM on the 3rd and 4th floors of a commercial building on the 2100 block of P Street NW.
Pete Piringer with DC Fire and EMS tells 9NEWS that the fire was on the walls and concealed spaces and that it caused considerable damage to the roof of the building.
Piringer said that the fire was possibly electrical in nature and described it as “labor intensive” requiring 60 firefighters to contain. The fire did not extend to nearby buildings.
Other fires today in DC included a basement utility room fire in a two-story apartment building at 1320 Bryant Street, NE around 8:00 AM and a law enforcement vehicle that caught fire in a garage in the 1200 block of 1st Street, NE around 9:00 AM. At the same time the DC Fire & EMS Department is involved in the logistics surrounding the State of the Union address by President Obama.
Firefighters with the DC Fire & EMS Department found the body of a 37-year-old lobbyist inside a burning car partially in the garage of the woman’s Capitol Hill home. Ashley Westbrook Turton was director of congressional affairs for Progress Energy. Turton was married to Daniel Turton, the White House deputy director of legislative affairs for the U.S. House.
Pete Piringer, spokesman for DC Fire and EMS, says firefighters were called to the 800 block of A Street for a report of a fire inside a row house just before 5:00 Monday morning. Firefighters quickly arrived at the scene and found a car engulfed in flames inside the attached garage of a row house. Piringer says once fire crews brought the flames under control they found the body of an adult victim inside the vehicle.
Piringer says police and fire investigators are on the scene. According to Piringer, the leading theory is the car may have crashed into the garage and caught fire.
Ashley W. Turton, 37, an energy company lobbyist and former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), was found dead shortly before 5 a.m. in a burning BMW, the back end of which was partly out of the garage, as if the vehicle had been entering or leaving when the fire started, authorities said.
Authorities said her death appears to have resulted from a low-speed crash, an unknown medical condition, the fire, or some combination of the three. “We have no evidence of any obvious malfeasance in her death at this time,” said Capt. Michael Farish, of the D.C. police homicide unit. The department’s major crash unit is handling most of the investigation for the police department.
Most of the smoke and fire damage was contained to the garage, according to Piringer, who said an adult male and several children in the house were unharmed. He said no 911 call came from the house and it is possible that the man and children were unaware of what had happened until firefighters arrived.
DC Fire and EMS says the 3-alarm fire at the Takoma Educational Center on Wednesday was accidental and caused by the improper use of a torch.
The fire at 7010 Piney Branch Rd NW left more than $2 million worth of damage. The fire damaged a number of classrooms.
One firefighter was injured but no one else was hurt, says DC Fire.
First units arrived to find heavy fire on the second and third floors of the school, and fire coming through the roof.
No students were in the school because if was closed for the holidays.
DC Fire and EMS spokesman Pete Piringer said damage will be heavy.
Piringer said a second alarm was dispatched because of the size of the school, and the call for third alarm was precautionary. Units responding to the third alarm staged nearby.
Piringer also said it looked like renovation work was being done in the area of the fire.
Neighbors say this was a school on the rebound with a dynamic principal and a lot of hard working teachers.
Nancy Smith says she’s very concerned about how the damage will set back the progress of the students.
Councilmember Murial Bowser says they’ll have to find a good temporary home for the students.
A D.C. firefighter has been paid for not showing up at work for more than two years, WTOP has learned.
The reason for the payments can be traced back to a 2008 corruption investigation.
According to documents obtained by WTOP, D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin received a complaint from the NoMa Business Improvement District saying a firefighter had sent an invoice to the company for CPR training provided by the fire department.
The invoice was printed on D.C. Fire and EMS letterhead, but instructed that a $120 payment be made to an individual – Natalie O. Williams – rather than the department.
The complaint was received in July 2008.
D.C. Fire and EMS officials confirm Natalie Overton Williams has been a firefighter/EMT since November 1988 and was part of the unit that provided CPR and first aid training to the public.
D.C. Fire and EMS offers the training to the public for a nominal fee.
According to Fire and EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer, after an internal investigation, the matter was referred to the office of the D.C. Inspector General. Williams was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into possible misconduct.
Williams was placed on leave in September 2008. Since then, Williams has not been charged and has continued to receive her annual salary of $72,125.
As to why the investigation has taken so long, Piringer says once a case has been referred to an outside agency for investigation, it’s out of the department’s hands.
Ray Sneed, President of the Local 36 Firefighter’s Union, says Williams has not been brought before a trial board, as is called for in the union contract.
“This is a prime example of the attitude of this administration,” Sneed says. “This should have been resolved a long time ago.”
A fire that broke out in a Northwest DC home has sent one victim to the hospital with critical burn injuries.
Deputy Chief Kenneth Crosswhite, spokesperson for DC Fire and EMS, says firefighters responded to a report of a house fire in the 400 block of Luray Place around 8:50 Friday morning.
Crews arriving on scene found flames showing from the second floor of a two-story row house. Crosswhite says an elderly woman was trapped by the flames and had to be rescued by firefighters. The woman suffered burn injuries and was transported to Medstar in critical condition.
Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control around 9:00 a.m.
Units are still on the scene dousing residual hot spots from the fire.
DC firefighters rescued several residents from a burning building on Kennedy St NW Thursday night.
Fire officials say six people were rescued from the building which houses the Christ Universal Church, commercial businesses, and several apartments at 113 Kennedy St NW.
DC Fire and EMS spokesman Pete Piringer says three of the injured were a woman age 62, a woman age 66, and man in his early 50′s. All suffered smoke inhalation and are in serious condition.
One firefighter suffered a twisted ankle while rescuing one of the residents.
Fire officials say the fire started in a first floor apartment and spread to the second floor. Smoke detectors were working and alerted residents to the fire, allowing them to attempt to escape.
One made it to the roof of the burning building and was rescued by firefighters. At least two others were pulled from second story windows. One person was found unconscious in a hallway.
DC Fire and EMS was called to the scene around 10:20 p.m. When crews arrived, heavy smoke and fire were discovered on the first floor of the two-story building.
When crews arrived, heavy smoke and fire were discovered on the first floor of the building. Fire officials say the first floor houses a commercial business while the second floor contains apartments.
DC Fire & EMS Department photographer Vito Maggiolo shot the video above during a fire at 1444 Rhode Island Avenue, NW. The fire was reported around 4:45 this afternoon and trapped some residents on the upper floors. Three civilians and two firefighters were hurt.
WUSA9.com’s Bruce Leshan reports the fire started on the 9th floor of the Windsor House. It trapped residents on the 10th floor who came to their windows signaling firefighters of their distress. Fire department spokesman Pete Piringer says firefighters brought residents to safety through the interior of the building and down ladders.
A lawsuit Friday by about 30 black firefighters alleges systematic racial discrimination within the D.C. Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, claiming that black employees face harsher discipline, are promoted less often and confront a hostile work environment imposed by white supervisors.
The 31-page suit, which lawyers say was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, contains information potentially embarrassing to the department. It refers by name to at least 10 white firefighters accused or convicted of various misconduct. It also refers to black firefighters who committed similar offenses.
In a virtual rap sheet, the suit describes cases in which firefighters have been arrested for stalking, assault and illegal handgun possession; disciplined for fighting or injuring fellow firefighters with knives and plates; and investigated for e-mailing images of their sexual organs to female colleagues and cooking naked in firehouses.
“I have been trying disciplinary cases before the department for years, and time after time, I see that disciplinary actions taken against African Americans are different from disciplinary actions against whites for the same alleged offenses,” said plaintiff’s lawyer Donna Rucker of the D.C. law firm Gebhardt & Associates.
Pete Piringer, spokesman for the D.C. fire department, declined comment Friday, saying officials had not had the opportunity to review the lawsuit.
WTOP Radio's Neal Augenstein has a follow-up to his story on Tuesday about the off-duty DC firefighter who was photographed in July while cooking breakfast while naked in the kitchen at Engine 11:
Three days after D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said a firefighter photographed naked while cooking eggs in a firehouse had been placed on enforced leave, his spokesman tells WTOP the firefighter has actually never been taken out of active service.
"The chief may have misinterpreted the briefing he had been given," says Pete Piringer, spokesman for D.C. Fire and EMS.
WTOP has learned while Rubin was saying the unidentified firefighter was on enforced leave, the employee was actually at work at a Southeast D.C. firehouse.
Rubin was not immediately available to explain the inaccuracy. Piringer said Rubin was involved in meetings and training sessions.
"The chief apparently misinterpreted the briefing he received from the assistant chief of operations, who oversees internal affairs," says Piringer.
During Tuesday's initial interview in Rubin's office, Deputy Chief Kenneth Crosswhite and Piringer were also present.
This is one of those reputation management type of stories that has been seen far and wide. This is from a TV website in Boston.
WTOP initially reported the firefighter had been suspended, which was incorrect. The firefighter's status was corrected after Crosswhite explained the employee was on enforced leave.
Crosswhite tells WTOP he did not learn the firefighter was not on enforced leave until Wednesday. Asked why he or a representative hadn't attempted to correct the reports, Crosswhite said, "I don't know."
Part of the confusion may be because of an ongoing internal affairs investigation. The identity of an employee involved in an investigation is not disclosed in order to protect their right to due process.
Asked if there was another case of a nude cooking firefighter, Piringer answered, "I sure hope not."
In July, the off-duty firefighter, was reportedly cooking eggs in the nude while in a common area after returning from a nearby bar. Earlier, the firefighter attended a retirement party in the firehouse.
Sources say the firefighter was transferred after the incident was reported.
Piringer says the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The Washington Examiner reports a July 7 retirement celebration for an outgoing DC Fire & EMS Department deputy chief apparently got a little out of hand. The article gives the indication that the event started with a dinner at Engine 11 in the 3400 block of 14th Street, NW and continued at some local bars. Apparently the problems began when the off-duty firefighters returned to the fire station. Here are excerots from an article by from Scott McCabe:
A complaint was filed last month and the department’s internal affairs unit is still looking into the accusations, D.C. fire spokesman Pete Piringer said Thursday.
We don’t tolerate that kind of behavior,” said D.C. fire spokesman Pete Piringer. “It’s unacceptable behavior on or off duty.”
Some of the people who had been drinking at the bars returned to the firehouse. At least one of them stripped down to the nude, sources said.
Some of the firefighters have been reassigned, but Piringer said he did not know whether they were moved because of the investigation.
Later in a statement released to the rest of the media, Piringer said that the investigation has not substantiated allegations that “high ranking fire chiefs were in attendance and they may have withheld information about the event to prevent embarrassment.”
DC Firefighters battled a blaze onboard a school bus Tuesday in Southeast DC.
Officials tell 9NEWS NOW the school bus caught fire in the 2700 block of Langston Place just before 8:00 a.m. According Pete Piringer, spokesperson for DC Fire and EMS, the mid-sized school bus was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on the scene.
Piringer says the driver, an aide, and several children made it off the bus safely before firefighters arrived. No one was injured.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames within 10 minutes, however, the bus was destroyed.
This is from an incident Saturday two blocks east of The White House. The video above is from someone staying in the W Hotel who began rolling before the arrival of the fire department as cops blocked off the 1400 block of F Street, NW.
Still frame from Vito Maggiolo video showing Treasury Department in the background.
Some of the fire video in the story below is from DC Fire & EMS photographer Vito Maggiolo who also sent along the still image.
Fire from an underground electrical transformer forced the evacuation of two hotels near the White House on Saturday night.
No injuries were reported. Pete Piringer of DC Fire and EMS said the fire, at 14th and F Streets, began at 7:45 p.m. and was under control in about an hour. Flames shot 20 to 30 feet high and dark smoke could be seen for miles, Piringer said.
The W hotel and historic Willard were evacuated. Several streets were closed and power was lost in the area.
The fire spread underground and shot through several manholes and grates in the area. More than 125 firefighters responded to the scene.
About 100 DC Firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire Tuesday night at the Saint Elizabeth’s hospital campus in Southeast DC.
It is the oldest federally funded psychiatric hospital in the country.
The hospital’s most infamous resident was perhaps John Hinckley, Jr., the man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
The Department of Homeland Security now owns the facility.
Investigators are looking into whether lightning may have caused the fire, which was reported about 9:45pm as thunderstorms moved through the area.
The report firefighters received had flames showing on or near the roof, according to Fire and EMS spokesman Pete Piringer. Crews got the fire under control shortly before 11pm.
One firefighter from Engine 32 was injured in the course of fighting the fire and was transported to the hospital. His injuries are not believed to be serious.
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