Embattled D.C. Chief Hanging up White Helmet
D.C. Fire/EMS Chief Kenneth Ellerbe -- whose department has been under constant scrutiny and criticism -- will announce Thursday he will leave July 2.
During his three-year tenure, Ellerbe has come under fire from not only responders, but the public and politicians.
Most recently, a city worker died across from a firehouse while the crew stayed put despite repeated pleas to help.
It also was under his watch that an injured police officer waited for nearly a half hour for an ambulance -- that eventually came from nearby Prince George's County, Md. And, in the past few weeks, a child and an elderly woman were transported to the hospital in a fire engine because EMS never showed up.
“This was a dream for me when I became a firefighter in 1982. I will be eternally grateful to Mayor Gray for believing in me. He showed tremendous strength and fortitude in allowing me to do this job,” Ellerbe said in a statement.
Ellerbe told reporters he was not pushed aside and is retiring voluntarily.