“Each shift has had outrageous conduct committed by employees that is not addressed immediately...That conduct has become a nightmare for the Command staff..."
That's what D.C. Assistant Fire Chief Eugene Jones wrote in a recent memo.
Jones, a former chief in Prince George's County, Md., was hired at the end of last year to turn things around in the fire and EMS arena in the nation's capital, according to WJLA.com.
The department has come under fire over the past few years for a myriad of issues including the death of a city worker who collapsed steps away from a fire house. Despite pleas, the firefighters didn't go to help.
In an internal memo obtained by the station, Jones wrote: "When we find that a citizen is 'seeking assistance' we shall be responsive. That should have never happened, that is basic..."
A report on the incident is expected possibly by the end of the week.
Some of Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe's supporters are now calling for his ouster.
Jones also said: "We have a duty to fully get to the facts of the case to reduce the level of embarrassment and ridicule of DCFEMS."
