Chuck Ryan, a firefighter with D.C. Fire and EMS, was burned on over 40 percent of his body after a two-alarm fire last April.
“I would have had a better chance for the injuries and the pain and suffering that we’re going through if we would have had the better station wear,” Ryan said.
Chief Ellerbe said that even if Ryan and the other firefighters had been wearing the protective shirts, their injures would still be severe.
“If the outer shell fails, then it’s highly unlikely the shirt they were wearing underneath is going to protect them further,” he said.
Ellerbe said firefighters have a long-sleeved version of the shirts, so there was no reason for any of them to be outfitted inadequately.
“If they’re worried about being protected, they should wear their long-sleeve shirts 365 days a year,” Ellerbe said.
Ellerbe remains steadfast in his defense of not permitting firefighters to wear the shirts with the old logo, but he does acknowledge they can help minimize injuries.
“It probably would have provided a modicum of protection, but not as much as the outerwear,” he said.
The shirts aren’t the only controversies facing Chief Ellerbe. He is also under fire for a recent reveal that he faced an accusation of sexual harassment in his last position in Sarasota, Fla.
“I don’t know how to undress a person with my eyes,” Ellerbe said. “I think you need to use your hands to do that, first of all. I’m not the type who undresses anybody.”
Ellerbe said that much of the criticism he faces comes from the union and firefighters who are resisting the scheduling changes he has implemented.
D.C.’s fire chief continues to parry criticism against him, citing what he says are inaccuracies in recent media reports that the city failed to vet harassment claims against him and that protective gear sitting in storage could have saved firefighters from injury.
In an interview with WTOP Monday morning, Chief Kenneth Ellerbe, who was tapped for the position by Mayor Vincent Gray in December 2010, claims scathing reports by Washington Times against him are “unfair,” “not accurate” and “sensationalist.”
The Times recently reported Ellerbe was not properly vetted before taking the job as chief of D.C. Fire & EMS, and that the city overlooked sexual harassment claims at his former position in Sarasota, Fla. where he also served as fire chief.
“Those articles coming out of (The Times) have been fraught with unproven allegations and inaccuracies,” he says. “I think they have not been fair and accurate in their reporting, but sensationalism sells stories.”
Ellerbe says he does not recall “undressing someone with his eyes,” per the Times report that he “leered at female employees and intimidated other employees,” adding he wouldn’t know how to undress someone using only his eyes.
He also denounced ever referring to himself as a “vindictive ‘expletive deleted.’”
“I would never refer to myself that way,” he says, “nor would I call anyone else that.”
The chief has also caught flak from an Examiner.com report that he kept $70,000 worth of fire-resistant shirts in storage because they did not align with the firefighters’ uniform. These could have been used to protect firefighters, the report claims.
Ellerbe said Monday these specific shirts don’t have any protective qualities, and are solely designed not to melt onto the firefighter’s skin if the protective outer jacket and pants fail.
He confirmed the shirts, which do not conform to the uniform, are sitting in the warehouse for the department while it looks for a way to repurpose or sell them.
“This is the deal when we take these leadership positions: We have to understand there’s going to be some resistance sometimes, especially if change is involved,” he says. “If you can’t take the heat, these aren’t the positions for you.”
D.C. firefighters and councilmembers are asking if protective shirts have been sitting in storage instead of being worn by firefighters–because the shirts didn't have the right patch.
Veteran D.C. firefighter Chuck Ryan was the most critically injured of five firefighters in a house fire that flashed over last April.
Today, only on ABC7, he talks about the recent report in the Washington Examiner that fire-resistant shirts designed to prevent burn injuries were sitting in a fire department warehouse last year when Ryan and four others were burned.
With second and third-degree burns on 40 percent of his body, Ryan is still on the very long road to recovery.
The Examiner reports the shirts were in storage and not handed out because the protective clothing didn't have the correct patches. Almost $70,000 of polo shirts bore logos designed by the previous administration. The shirts didn't have the new department logo ordered by current Chief Kenneth Ellerbe, so the shirts stayed in the boxes, according to the Examiner.
Councilman Phil Mendelson's office has been asking the department for months about rumors that the protective shirts were available. But he says he was always told the shirts didn't exist.
"It was disturbing after a year to find out they do exist," Mendelson says.
"We work in the best city in the nation," Ryan says. "Why wouldn't we have the best equipment available?"
"The temperature got so hot the uniform melted into my skin," Ryan says.
If he wasn't wearing the best gear–because of a patch–that's disheartening, he says.
Ryan says the shirts now in storage might have helped lessen the burns on his upper arms and back. But he says we will never know how much.
Did former DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Dennis Rubin or his administration resort to trickery when 1700 polo shirts made of 100 percent cotton were ordered for firefighters at a cost of $70,000 to taxpayers? Current Chief Kenneth Ellerbe raised that possibility in an interview with WRC-TV's Darcy Spencer as he explained why those shirts have never been used by firefighters. The report gave no specifics on what kind of trickery Chief Ellerbe was referring to.
Chief Ellerbe banned the use of the shirts because they came with a patch introduced under the Rubin administration that Ellerbe has now banned. The shirts are in a warehouse where they have been for many months. According to news reports, firefighters will continue to wear uniforms made of polyester and blends that can contribute to burns instead of the new shirts.
The very existence of the shirts, until recently, was a mystery or secret. So much so that DC Councilmember Phil Mendelson indicated at a hearing that he had not been getting the straight scoop from Chief Ellerbe when he previously asked about the shirts.
“I don’t want to waste anything, but I don't want to be responsible for something somebody else ordered that they know we’re not going to use, either,” he said. “Sometimes there's trickery in terms of one administration to another, as well.”
"It's been a huge push for my membership for fire-resistive station wear, and we’re not backing off of that,” union President Ed Smith said. “As long as it’s provided – these shirts have been paid for by the taxpayers, and they should be in use.”
Chairman Phil Mendelson was obviously frustrated over getting the runaround about the polo shirts, which he had been told didn’t exist.
“This has been a big rumor, and there have been a lot of complaints about it,” he said.
Fire officials said they've received inquiries from D.C.'s Inspector General's Office about the shirts.
Chief Kenneth Ellerbe was interviewed this morning on Fox 5 Morning News about the Washington Times article this week outlining allegations of sexual harassment that occurred when Ellerbe was chief in Sarasota County, Florida. Click the player above to watch the video.
Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Wednesday offered a vote of confidence to D.C. Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe after a report detailing sexual harassment and intimidation complaints against Chief Ellerbe at his prior job in Florida.
Mr. Gray said Chief Ellerbe remains a qualified pick for the top post at the D.C. Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services based on his extensive knowledge of the agency’s duties and operations.
“I think that Chief Ellerbe has done an exceptional job as fire chief,” Mr. Gray said.
A spokeswoman for committee chairman Phil Mendelson said he did not know about a complaint. His understanding was that there was an accusation, but never an official, formal complaint.
Mayor Vincent Gray said he has not read the story, but had only accolades for his chief, saying he has done an exceptional job.
A spokesman for the mayor said asking for personnel files is not part of the hiring process.
Fire-resistant shirts designed to prevent burn injuries when a firefighter's outer uniform fails were sitting in storage last year when five District firefighters were injured during a two-alarm blaze.
The reason the shirts were in storage rather than on firefighters? The clothing didn't have the correct D.C. Fire and Emergency Services patch, Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe testified at a hearing Wednesday. Ellerbe added that the order was placed before he started his job last January.
"There were held because of the logo and it's a polo shirt [so it's] not a uniform shirt," Ellerbe said at a D.C. Council Judiciary Committee performance hearing.
Nearly $70,000 worth of brand-new shirts ordered by the District’s fire department have gone unused because they are adorned with the wrong emblem, fire officials testified Wednesday.
The shirts were delivered early last year. But because they are polo shirts, which Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe has said can no longer be worn as part of the uniform, and because they are embroidered with an old emblem that the District's Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department no longer uses, the shirts have sat boxed in a warehouse, fire officials admitted.
“Chief, I have asked you many times, have I not, about the truth of the polo shirts? And every time I’ve asked until this week the answer was been, ‘There are none,’” Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said during the hearing.
The Washington Times published a lengthy story this evening looking at allegations of sexual harassment against DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Kenneth Ellerbe while he was chief in Sarasota County, Florida. The article, by Andrea Noble and Matthew Cella, also takes a closer look at the unusual arrangement that allowed Chief Ellerbe to still be a deputy chief in DC while employed in Sarasota County.
The reporters are asking the administration of DC Mayor Vincent Gray why Chief Ellerbe was not fully vetted and why his personnel file was not obtained from Sarasota County. They also asking why there was no national search for a fire chief.
Chief Ellerbe says the allegations were properly investigated by Sarasota County and denies there was any sexual harassment. He blames the complaints on the union in Florida.
The article is so detailed it is difficult to provide excerpts that would be fair to all sides. I suggest you read it in its entirety.
Like Baltimore’s Jim Clack before him, the newly announced chief of the DC Fire & EMS Department is making his presence known on the often rough and tumble fire service forum thewatchdesk.com(TWD). Kennth Ellerbe, currently the chief in Sarasota County, Florida and who was on the DC department for 27 years, has posted on the forum 69 times since May of 2004. He uses the screen name Kenzin. But the three most recent messages came today, after being announced yesterday as Mayor-elect Vincent Gray’s choice to be the next fire and EMS chief for the Nation’s Capital.
Chief Ellerbe is already dealing with some controversy about a tax credit on his DC home and a special employment agreement that was made and rescinded when he took the job in Florida last year. He addressed those issues at yesterday’s press conference (see the video above).
On TWD he is directly addressing some of those who have posted critical comments about Gray’s choice to run the department (there are some similar comments on this forum). Among them Janet Wilmoth, who is the editorial director at Fire Chief Publications. Tonight Chief Ellerbe shared with TWD readers his response to Wilmoth’s blog posting yesterday that strongly questioned the appointment. Here is part of what Chief Ellerbe wrote (click here to read the entire message):
This is one of my responses to Ms. Wilmoth. I’d suggest temperance in responding to her and not over-reacting to what she wrote. Give her a chance to do some homework and repost.
Ms. Wilmoth,
I responded to your post earlier but don’t see it on your site, so I’ll repost as it may have gotten ‘lost in the mail.’
Quite frankly, I am surprised at the comments that you have published throughout the country. We don’t know each other, so I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you may be reacting or responding to what you have read or heard from tertiary sources. I would strongly suggest that you contact Dr. Steven Newman, Medical Director for Sarasota County Fire and EMS to determine if your comments were warranted. Your unprecedented attack on me reflects negatively not just on me. Your comments may have a negative impact on the entire department that I represent and I must calmly object to your post. You have a large readership and are well-respected in our industry. Nothing can tear a person’s integrity apart quicker than speaking as an authority without the benefit of careful research.
OK, everybody, relax. Most of you from DCFEMS know who I am because I identified myself long ago. I don’t hide behind my screen name. I can say this; there will be some changes. I’m going on record now so that if what I promise doesn’t happen, any of you can feel free to call me out on it. The changes that I can guarantee will be: transparency-we will operate out in the open for all to see and agree with or criticize freely; fairness-everyone will be treated fairly and anyone who doesn’t think that they can treat people fairly should be looking for another place of employment; accountability-everyone must be accountable, especially me. We will all be operating under a microscope and it’s part of my job to ensure that we do our jobs effectively and efficiently. I can’t do that without the full cooperation of every member. I don’t expect people to go blindly into the future. You have the right to question (as long as it isn’t in a life or death situation) and you have the right to criticize if you feel that bad decisions are made. Offering criticism or alternative solutions to challenges should not, and will not result in retaliatory responses.
I will not respond to, or participate in rumors, slanderous conversations or silliness. I have no intention of being ‘baited’ into any confrontational posts, nor do I take a lot of this stuff too seriously. This is a place where people ‘vent’, cheer or blow off steam, so have at it.
For those who would comfortably and anonymously post, feel free as well.
Regarding vindictiveness, be careful about making assumptions or accepting someone else’s version of the truth. First, let’s define vindictive…”disposed or inclined to revenge.” Revenge would imply that someone was trying to get even with someone else for a previous offense. In order to be vindictive, a person has to be harmed, or perceive that they have been harmed. Only one person that I know of has tried to harm me, and the truth is, they have to live with that, not me. I wasn’t injured and actually came out OK, regardless of the lies that were told, the character assasination that occurred and the mean-spirited actions that were taken. There may be others who may mean to do me harm, but they hide in the shadows and we don’t have time to go peeking around corners and looking over our shoulders, stalking ghosts. We have work to do and there is plenty to go around. WE have a charge to make this department a model for everyone to marvel at with no time to waste. It is my hope that we will all move forward without so much as a backward glance at the minor insults that we might have endured and decide one and all to make the people we represent and serve proud, safe, and comfortable in knowing that if they call, we’ll be there to serve and protect.
I won’t be doing a lot of posting but I am hopeful that we will all get along, reduce the bickering for all the world to see and make the people who know that you work here happy to say that my friend or family member works for DCFEMS.
This afternoon the chief was on TWD with a reply to someone who posts using the name “Truth”. Earlier “Truth” expressed unhappiness with the way Chief Ellerbe ran the department when he was interim chief for three months in 2000. Here’s the exchange:
TRUTH: As I said Chief, I hope I am wrong in my opinion. Either way, congrats on coming back. You definiatley have some challenges ahead
KENZIN: Truth, You entitled to your opinion, which I differ with considerably, but it’s your opinion. Maybe, in time, your opinion will change. Keep a watchful eye, as many will do. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised. Take care.
Baltimore’s Chief Clack spent 16 months conversing with mostly anonymous firefighters on the Baltimore City section of TWD. Like Chief Ellerbe, Chief Clack started the conversation before he took office. In July, 2009, Clack made it clear why he was giving up this method of communications, writing in his final post, ” … some folks use their ability to be anonymous on this board as a license to be rude, obnoxious, defamatory and even openly racist”.
Many will form an impression of us as a professional public safety agency by what they read here. I have a pretty high tolerance for foolishness, but I feel that this forum is not healthy for me personally, for the members of this department who read this stuff even for the people who don’t work here. The Baltimore City Fire Department is full of dedicated heroes who put their lives on the line every shift. They deserve better.
Personally, I admired Chief Clack for even making the effort and then sticking with it for as long as he did. It’s a bold and intriguing way to communicate with those who work for you, including a great many who are unhappy either with your leadership, the department or both.
It fits with the important concept of communicating directly with your stakeholders. But it’s also akin to constantly throwing yourself into the lion’s den. Any Internet forum, including this one, can be brutal to a public figure and/or to other people posting. The anonymity emboldens people. I think adding blunt firefighters to that mix can take it to an extreme. Chief Clack took the abuse for quite a while, often responding with a self depracating sense of humor (seems to work well in this arena) as he tried to focus on the issues rather than personalities.
I have no idea if Chief Ellerbe plans to continue posting on TWD. But any leader who takes this step and debates their employees in an open and anonymous forum needs to keep in mind some basic truths of life on TWD and similar venues. Check your ego at the door, don’t ever be defensive and never take it personally. It’s just like the firehouse. Once they smell blood and sense they can get to you, it’s all over.
STATter911.com has learned that Deputy Chief Kenneth Ellerbe resigned from the District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department on January 15. The resignation came a month and a day after it was first reported by David Lipscomb of The Washington Times that Ellerbe was both the chief of the Sarasota County Fire Department and on leave without pay from DC.
That revelation was followed by our report there was a signed agreement between the two jurisdictions that allowed this unusual arrangement. Numerous sources indicated the deal was an effort to let Chief Ellerbe stay employed by the DC Fire & EMS Department until his 50th birthday in April, providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional retirement benefits.
DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Spokesman Pete Piringer confirmed Kenneth Ellerbe’s new status today.
Still unanswered from anyone in the District government is exactly why this arrangement was made and what advantage there was for the city in facilitating such a deal.
STATter911.com learned on December 16 that the official “Personnel Exchange Agreement” was approved in DC by Assistant Fire Chief Brian Lee and Director of Human Resources Brender Gregory. The Department of Human Resources denied a Freedom of Information Act request by STATter911.com for paperwork and correspondence related to this agreement.
As we reported last month, DC Fire & EMS Department sources indicated when the arrangement was first presented to Chief Dennis Rubin he refused to sign off on the deal. In June, when the department was questioned by STATter911.com about a possible deal to help Chief Ellerbe with his retirement, the word from a spokesman was that Chief Rubin said there would be no special arrangements for Ellerbe. The fire department sources, who are not authorized to speak on this matter, indicated in December that Chief Rubin said he only recently had become aware that Assistant Chief Lee signed the exchange form.
Previous coverage of this story from STATter911.com here and here.
For the first time Sarasota County Chief Kenneth Ellerbe makes some comments about the controversy he is embroiled in back in his native Washington, D.C. We will get to that in a moment, because there are a few other developments related to this story.
Sarasota County Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe.
The reporter who uncovered this story, David Lipscomb at The Washington Times, got through to the DC Fire & EMS Department official who STATter911com first reported signed DC Standard Form 69, a ”Personnel Exchange Agreement”. Here’s what Lipscomb wrote:
Reached by phone on Thursday, Chief Lee said the fire department already had addressed the matter, and would not disclose whether he signed the document.
“I have no comment,” Chief Lee said.
As we reported on Wednesday, Andrew Gerst with the DC Department of Human Resources, officially confirmed, without providing details, that the “Personnnel Exchange Agreement” existed in Ellerbe’s file. Lipscomb reports a different experience when he first brought up the subject a week earlier:
But in a Dec. 9 response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Times seeking “documents related to Deputy Fire Chief Ellerbe’s participation in a personnel exchange agreement,” Mr. Gerst responded, “DCHR is not in possession of any such documents.”
Our FOIA request is still pending.
You may recall that we mentioned on Tuesday how Joe Morgan, a District of Columbia firefighter who nearly died because of critical burns in a 1999 fire, was turned down as he attempted, with the support of chiefs and others, to remain employed by DC and was forced to retire. As we said then, it was a different set of circumstances, but a case STATter911.com and others thought relevant in comparing treatment for fire department employees.
Retired DC Fire & EMS lieutenant Joe Morgan writes to STATter911.com.
We caught up with Joe Morgan in a long phone conversation on Thursday. Always good to hear from Joe and that he is doing well. He has written to STATter911.com, giving a detailed explanation of what he went through and answering a lot of questions that were brought up in our comments section. Joe also gave his thoughts about Chief Ellerbe:
One thing I will say about Chief Ellerbe that I know, he is a smart man and knows the books. He would not make a move like this if there was any doubt of legitimacy. It’s also interesting to me that his leave of absence is being challenged when so many have used this in the past to maintain the maximum retirement possible. I’m sure if an honest assessment were to be rendered, it would be found to have many Ellerbes on the books.
Although Ellerbe didn’t want to talk about his situation with the D.C. department, he says the citizens of Sarasota have nothing to worry about, because his full attention is focused on Sarasota.
Although some County Commissioners and those in administration were not aware of Ellerbe’s unique employment situation, Commissioner Jon Thaxton says he doesn’t have a problem with it as long as Ellerbe is giving his full attention to his new job. But Thaxton admits he can see where some people might have a problem with it, especially with the flap over double dipping in Florida.
Baltimore 2nd alarm (and rally info): This fire on Ostend Street Friday morning left one firefighter with minor burns. Firefighters point out the closest engine company, Engine 55 in Pigtown, was closed for the day. The rotating closures and the budget cuts are behind today’s rally as firefighters march from the Baltimore City Fire Museum (old Engine 6 on Gay Street) to City Hall at 5:00 PM. IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger is scheduled to join IAFF locals 734 and 964 (officers) WJZ-TV has the story.
VIDEO ADDED – DC & Sarasota officials signed ageement to allow new Florida chief to remain District employee: STATter911.com now knows what happened to allow Sarasota County Chief Kenneth Ellerbe to stay on the rolls of the DC Fire & EMS Department in able to enhance his retirement pay. We even know a DC assistant fire chief and the city’s head of human resources approved Kenneth Ellerbe’s leave without pay status. What we don’t know is why this was allowed to happen, especially since Chief Dennis Rubin originally declined to sign the deal. We are also trying to determine the benefit for the city to engage in a formal personnel exchange arrangement to fill a fire chief’s slot in Florida. The DC Fire & EMS Department and the DC Department of Human Resources aren’t exactly filling in the blanks on a lot of unanswered questions. One question from a STATter911.com reader is one we hadn’t thought of: Will the DC Fire & EMS Department now offer this arrangement to every firefighter who may be almost a year short in reaching retirement age? Click here for the latest, including Wednesday’s 6:00 PM report for TV.
Also in Sarasota County, Florida, a 911 problem causing a 20 hour delay: Listen to the audio and read the details on why help wasn’t sent to a man later found dead in North Port, Florida. Click here.
Construction workers make rescue at Beltway vehicle fire: Raw video from the air, pictures from the ground and the story from Scott Broom on yesterday’s save after an SUV crashed and burned on the Capital Beltway near College Park, Maryland. Construction workers pulled a woman from the burning vehicle.
Rape charges dropped against Bourne, Massachusetts deputy chief: Paul Weeks is eager to go back to work and his bosses want him on the job as soon as possible. The rape charge against the deputy chief has been one of many dramas involving Bourne’s fire department in recent months. While the papers say they don’t identify rape victims, the victim in this case declined to prosecute citing “marital privilege”. Read more.
NEW – Developer on home confinement after off-duty firefighter shot: We were a little late in telling you about the arrest in the off-duty shooting of a Milton, Massachusetts firefighter in an apparent road rage incident. Read about the charges against a well known developer.
Anthropometry, a word Dave has never heard before: Ann who? Dave showing his ignorance on reading an interesting press release from the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service. MCFRS will be working with NIOSH in using anthropometry to to “improve the fit and performance of equipment that interfaces with the body”. Anthropometry “is the science of measuring the human body”. Read the release.
Fire chief and city sued by landlord: Readers in Utica, New York alerted us to this story about a fire in September that killed four people, but Firegeezer already had this interesting case well covered. Click here.
Firefighters replace money stolen in Salvation Army robberies: IAFF Local 660 in Charlotte, North Carolina has donated $6000 to make up for some men going around to Salvation Army kettles trying to steal Christmas. Read the story.
A spokesman for the District of Columbia Department of Human Resources confirms there is a signed agreement between the city and Sarasota County about the employment of the Florida community’s new fire chief. Andrew Gerst tells STATter911.com that a form titled “Personnel Exchange Agreement” is on file in connection with DC Deputy Chief Kenneth Ellerbe who has been Sarasota County’s fire chief since August.
DC Fire & EMS Department spokesman Pete Piringer previously confirmed that Ellerbe, employed by the department since 1982, is on leave without pay. The arrangement could allow Ellerbe to remain employed through his 50th birthday in April, in turn enhancing his retirement benefits.
On Tuesday, DC City Council Public Safety and Judiciary Chairman Phil Mendelson said the arrangement “smacks of favoritism” and sends the wrong message to the rank and file who are not allowed these special perks.
While Gerst would not provide details on who signed the form for the DC government, numerous sources familiar with the document tell STATter911.com that it has the signatures of Assistant Fire Chief Brian Lee and Director of Human Resources Brender Gregory.
Chief Ellerbe’s boss in Sarasota County, Emergency Services Director Mike Suarez, confirms he signed a District of Columbia government document at the time of Chief Ellerbe’s employment. In a telephone conversation, Suarez could not recall exactly what document he signed but said it sounds very similar to the description of the “Personnel Exchange Agreement”.
A copy of a blank “Personnel Exchange Agreement” provided to STATter911.com indicates it would allow Ellerbe to return to his post as deputy fire chief in DC, or “a position of like seniority, status and pay” at “the completion of the assignment”.
When reached by telephone Chief Ellerbe declined to comment on the issue.
DC Fire & EMS Department sources indicate when the arrangement was first presented to Chief Dennis Rubin he refused to sign off on the deal. In June, when the department was questioned by STATter911.com about a possible deal to help Chief Ellerbe with his retirement, the word from a spokesman was that Chief Rubin said there would absolutely no special arrangements.
The fire department sources, who are not authorized to speak on this matter, indicate that Chief Rubin said he only recently became aware that Assistant Chief Lee signed the paperwork.
The Washington Times reported on Monday that by being allowed to receive his retirement pay at age 50 Chief Ellerbe could take home as much as an additional $600,000. Chief Ellerbe is in the middle tier of a three tiered retirement system that requires him to be employed by the department at the time of his retirement to begin receiving benefits before age 55.
Chief Kenneth Ellerbe from Sarasota County website.
Since 1982 Deputy Chief Kenneth Ellerbe has been an employee of the DC Fire & EMS Department and he is still officially on the job. Since July, Ellerbe has also been the chief of the Sarasota County fire department in Florida. Ellerbe hasn’t split himself in two. He just doesn’t show up for work or get paid in the Nation’s Capital.
DC Fire & EMS Department spokesman Pete Piringer confirms that Chief Dennis Rubin has placed Ellerbe on leave without pay.
That status is anything but a punishment. According to The Washington Times, by being allowed to remain on the department’s rolls until his 50th birthday in April, Ellerbe will get as much as an additional $600,000 in retirement pay.
DC City Council Public Safety and Judiciary Chairman Phil Mendelson thinks the arrangement sends the wrong message to the rank and file who are not allowed these special perks. Mendelson says, “It smacks of favoritism”.
While a slightly different set of circumstances, the District of Columbia government was unable to accommodate Firefighter Joe Morgan who was forced to retire after being critically burned in a 1999 fire. Firefighters lobbied unsuccessfully to keep Morgan employed in an effort help maximize his retirement benefits. When asked about the Morgan case, Mendelson said, “He ended up losing his job, which was wrong”.
Joe Morgan, retired DC firefighter
STATter911.com first learned this might be an issue in June, a few days before Ellerbe was announced as the new chief in Sarasota County. At the time, we asked DC fire officials if any special arrangements would be made to help Kenneth Ellerbe maximize his benefits. A spokesman told us the answer from Chief Rubin was an emphatic “no”.
Chief Rubin, on an unrelated visit to 9NEWS NOW on Tuesday, left it to spokesman Piringer to answer questions about the incident. Piringer indicated the best answers would come from the DC Department of Human Resources. Piringer, who was not with the department when we first asked questions about Ellerbe’s status, could not tell us what changed following the chief’s response in June.
A spokesman at the Department of Human Resources, Andrew Gerst, would not respond to questions and asked us to supply a Freedom of Information Act request for details about Kenneth Ellerbe’s employment and retirement status.
STATter911.com was able to contact a spokesperson for Sarasota County in an effort to reach Chief Ellerbe and any comments he might have for this story.
NOTE FOR CLARIFICATION: While Joe Morgan was forced to retire despite wanting to continue in his job at the DC Fire & EMS Department training academy, sources familiar with his case indicate he was eventually able to improve the retirement compensation that he originally received.
Off-duty firefighter makes rescue at Chicago high-rise: Fifteen months on the job, Jason Durbin was working part time at an ambulance company on Sunday afternoon when he spotted the fire at Bryant House on Chicago’s North Side. Durbin says he climbed 28 flights to find a burned woman on a hallway floor. The firefighter carried her down. Click here to read more about the fire.
Statter blew the story of the Florida chief still on the DC payroll: Back during the second week of June, STATter911.com received a couple of tips that DC Fire & EMS Department Chief Kenneth Ellerbe was days away from being named as the new chief of the fire department in Sarasota County, Florida. That proved accurate when the announcement was made on June 17. The other part of that tip included information that Chief Ellerbe, at age 49, was about a year short on qualifying for a benefit that would allow him to start receiving his retirement pay at age 50 instead of 55. A significant amount of money (now reported at about $600,000) would be left on the table. Our tipsters told us that a deal was in the works to help out Chief Ellerbe in this matter. We contacted the administration of Chief Dennis Rubin to confirm such a deal was happening. We were told emphatically and on the record by department officials that there was no deal and there wouldn’t be one on Chief Ellerbe’s retirement. Well, shame on STATter911.com for not following-up on that story. As David C. Lipscomb reports in The Washington Time today, Chief Ellerbe is still an employee of the DC Fire & EMS Department while still serving as Sarasota County’s chief. Chief Ellerbe is officially on “leave without pay” until his birthday in April. Department PIO Pete Piringer (not on staff when our initial calls were made) tells Lipscomb, ”He had the years [of service] but not the age. They’re waiting for him to get to 50.” Here’s the story.
One fire engine and one firefighter apparently not enough for this house fire: In Millville, California a woman is is asking for changes after it took about 15-minutes for the first engine to arrive after her home caught fire in October. That engine showed up driver-only and three of the woman’s neighbors (two former and one current Cal Fire employees) handled the hoses. Read more.
Off-duty firefighter shot during apparent road-rage incident: A Milton, Massachusetts firefighter and his girlfriend were driving through Quincy when there was a reported confrontation with the driver of another car. The word is that the driver of a sports car kept hitting the brakes while in front of Firefighter Joseph Fasano’s car. Police say the two men got out of their cars and into a confrontation where Fasano was shot once in the abdomen. Read and watch the story.
State association is rallying around union president suspended over speaking out: The New York State Professional Firefighters Association wants firefighters from around the state to show up at the Johnson City Village Board meeting on Tuesday. They are protesting the suspension without pay of Captain Marty Meaney. Meaney is charged by the mayor with insubordination in comments to the press and at a public meeting. Here the latest. Here’s the earlier coverage with the charging documents.
Wife’s free spending causes hazmat: A woman in Rockland, Massachusetts was trying to hide her spending from her husband. She just didn’t let her daughter in on the plan. The confusion brought a hazmat response to the daughter’s home. Click here for an explanation.
Cumberland union still in a battle over reorganization: In Western Maryland, Cumberland officials are having to deal with the union to change the make up of the fire department. While the idea of going to a volunteer force seems dead, there are still serious issues, including bumping lieutenants back to fire engineers. Click here for the latest.
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