NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
FEMS Needs a Change
O
n Feb. 25 Councilmember Tommy Wells (Ward 6) sent a letter to Mayor Vincent Gray calling for the resignation of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Paul Quander and Fire and Emergency Medical Services (FEMS) Chief Kenneth Ellerbe. Only the day before that Councilmember Wells, chair of the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, had engaged both at an oversight hearing regarding the case of Medric “Cecil” Mills Jr. “This request is not
by Charnice A. Milton
based on a single incident,” he wrote. “There is systemic mismanagement throughout the Department ... this Department has enormous and urgent challenges to overcome.”
Medric “Cecil” Mills Jr.
FEMS has been under scrutiny for inadequate responses to emergencies for years; however, the death of 77-year-old Medric “Cecil” Mills Jr. from a heart attack became what Councilmember Wells called “the tip
of the iceberg.” On Jan. 25 Mills and his daughter Marie were at Brentwood Shopping Center when he collapsed in the parking lot. While a shopkeeper called 911, bystanders ran across the street to Fire Engine House 26 for help. According to Quander’s Feb. 20 report on the case, a probationary firefighter, Remy Jones, “placed a call on the Public Announcement (PA) system asking for [Lieutenant Kellene Davis] to report to the watch desk.” Lt. Davis, who was in her bunk room, failed to
respond, even after the Jones made a second announcement. Three other firefighters also heard the announcement, but one of them told Jones that they needed to inform Lt. Davis as they were not dispatched to the call. After talking to Lt. Davis the firefighter went to his car, gathered his study books and other items, and went to his bunkroom after being told to ask for the address. Meanwhile the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) received the 911 call and the Computer Aid Dispatch (CAD) recorded it. However, the call-taker assigned it to the wrong quadrant. After repeated corrections the call-taker entered the location as Northeast after erroneously entering Northwest. However, the lead dispatcher and radio operators failed to see the correction and sent emergency services to the wrong address. It was only after a police officer flagged down another ambulance that Mills finally received medical attention. The ambulance sent to the wrong address arrived at the scene later. While Lt. Davis claimed she investigated the scene, Quander reported that none of the five firefighters provided medical care. Mills died later at Washington Hospital Center.
History of Problems
Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Paul Quander testifies during Feb. 24 oversight hearing on the case of Medric “Cecil” Mills Jr. Photo: Charnice A. Milton
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FEMS and OUC were at fault in the Mills case, but FEMS received most of the attention due to the department’s history of mistakes and failures. The oversight hearing featured another case of FEMS neglect: Jose Santos Ruiz Perez, who died Jan. 10. His employer testified that Perez called FEMS, then waited outside his