A DCFD fire engine in December 2005.DCFD Engine Company #23 (Foggy Bottom Firehouse)DCFD Engine 7
On January 13, 1803, District of Columbia passed its first law about fire control, requiring the owner of each building in the district to provide at least one leather firefighting bucket per story or pay a $1 fine per missing bucket.[5]
The first firefighting organizations in the district were private volunteer companies. To end the problems created by rivalries between these companies, District of Columbia approved in 1864 an act to consolidate them and organize a paid fire department.[5] Seven years passed before it was implemented on September 23, 1871, creating the all-professional District of Columbia Fire Department (DCFD) with a combination of paid and volunteer staff.[3] The department had seven paid firefighters and 13 call men to answer alarms, manning three engines and two ladders.
By 1900, the DCFD had grown to 14 engine companies, four ladder companies, and two chemical companies.[3]
In 1968, the entire DCFD was mobilized during the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The four days of disorder saw widespread civil unrest, looting and arson, which ultimately required help with 70 outside companies to battle over 500 fires and perform 120 rescues.[6]
In the 1970s and 1980s, the department was rife with racial tension, as the nearly all-white department became much more racially integrated and African Americans sought upper-level supervisory and management positions.[7]
September 11, 2001 Pentagon Attack
During the September 11 Attacks, an aircraft was flown into the west side of the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. While the Arlington County Fire Department had primary jurisdiction for the response and aftermath of the attack, DCFD units responded to the Pentagon to provide mutual aid. At approximately 09:46 AM EST, the Fire Communications center dispatched several units to the White House for a reported plane crash into the structure. After an investigation, this alleged White House attack was unfounded. [8] At approximately 09:48 AM EST, the Fire Communications Center sent several more units to the Pentagon to assist Arlington County Fire Department. [9] In the end, DCFD sent over 40 units (fire suppression, ambulances, and other specialized fire vehicles) to assist with the Pentagon response, and countless more personnel over the course of several days to assist with the aftermath and cleanup of the site. [9]
In January 2010, The Washington Examiner reported that, in a major management failure, the agency failed to budget for seniority pay in its fiscal 2010 budget, causing a $2 million shortfall.[10] After a hiring freeze left 130 positions unfilled, the department was projected to spend $15.4 million in fiscal 2010 (2.5 times the budgeted amount).[10] More than 75 percent of the agency's budget goes to salaries and fringe benefits.[10]
Problems with vehicle maintenance also worsened after 2010. The department lost track of the location of reserve vehicles, and sometimes listed fire engines as available for duty when they had been stripped for parts and sent to the junkyard. In 2012, the agency hired a consultant at a cost of $182,000 to create an accurate database of vehicle status and location. Both the D.C. Council and the District of Columbia's inspector general have strongly criticized the department's record. The District of Columbia Firefighters Association, Local 36, and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) have argued that the problem lies with poor management, while DCFEMS has said the problems either cannot be accounted for or are the result of rank-and-file incompetence or neglect.[11]
In July 2013, more than 60 DCFEMS ambulances were out of commission due to maintenance issues, and the department was forced to hire a private ambulance service to provide staffing at a Major League Baseball game. On August 8, 2013, a DCFEMS ambulance ran out of fuel while part of President Barack Obama's motorcade, and ended up stranded on the South Lawn of the White House (EMS personnel said they reported a broken fuel gauge months ago, while DCFEMS said workers failed to fill the vehicle with gasoline.) On August 13, 2013, two DCFEMS ambulances caught fire—one while delivering a patient to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the other while responding to an emergency call at an apartment building on Benning Road SE (another ambulance was dispatched to take the patient to the hospital.)[11]
Muriel E. Bowser was sworn in as the seventh Mayor of the District of Columbia on January 2, 2015. On March 2, 2015, Mayor Bowser named Gregory Dean as Chief of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department. Dean previously served for 10 years as the Fire EMS Chief for Seattle, Washington.
Chief Dean's primary focus would be stabilizing emergency medical services, boosting the department’s understaffed ranks, addressing the increasing call volume, improving training for patient care, improving vehicle fleet reliability and improving operational safety.
In June 2015, Dr. Jullette M. Saussy was selected to serve as the Medical Director of DC Fire and EMS.[12] On January 29, 2016, just months after her appointment, she announced her resignation from that position in a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser. In her letter, she called the department's culture "highly toxic to the delivery of any semblance of quality pre-hospital medical care."[13]
Dr. Robert P. Holman[14] was appointed as the Interim Medical Director effective on February 16, 2016. Dr. Holman would ultimately be retained as the permanent Medical Director and is currently the Department’s longest-serving Medical Director.
Starting in March 2016, the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) began using American Medical Response (AMR), now renamed Global Medical Response (GMR), to supplement patient transport services. AMR-GMR provides BLS patient transport services upon request from FEMS first responders.
Dr. Holman immediately went to work on improving EMS training, improving and expanding the EMS Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Office, and led the transition to criteria-based dispatching.
Dr. Holman would go on to establish the nation's largest 911 Nurse Triage Line (NTL), institute quarterly paramedic training symposiums, re-organize and reestablish the Department's Public Health / Street Calls Mobile Integrated Health Team, and improve the Department's Controlled Medication Program.
Most recently, in April 2024, the Department implemented a program to provide whole blood transfusions in the field. This program was implemented with support of the American Red Cross and the George Washington University Hospital’s blood bank. DC Fire and EMS is using “universal: low-titer type-O whole blood when it transfuses eligible patients suffering from hemorrhagic shock. Transfusion of patients by DC Fire and EMS increases the chance of surviving a devastating blood loss injury - more than doubling the odds of surviving and making it home from the hospital.
January 6 United States Capitol Attack
On January 6, 2021, supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, attacked the United States Capitol, after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. DCFD had a significant response to the attack, treating hundreds of people for injuries, both police officers and rioters. DCFD also had a role in the high-profile EMS response to the shooting of rioter Ashli Babbitt by a United States Capitol Police officer. This response was deemed somewhat unsafe for DCFD personnel by many working in the fire department as many responders were treated in a hostile manner by rioters. [15]
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. They may also be known as a first aid squad, FAST squad, emergency squad, ambulance squad, ambulance corps, life squad or by other initialisms such as EMAS or EMARS.
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fire Suppression Services,Specialized Hazardous Materials Response Services,Emergency Medical Response Services and Specialized Technical Rescue Services in the entire city.
The Seattle & King County Emergency Medical Services System is a fire-based two-tier response system providing prehospital basic and advanced life support services.
The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) provides firefighting services along with emergency medical response services, hazardous materials mitigation services, and technical rescue response services in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. The Chicago Fire Department is the second-largest municipal fire department in the United States after the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). It is also one of the oldest major organized fire departments in the nation. It has numerous general purpose and specialized vehicles and equipment to accomplish its missions.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through contracting, including the city of La Habra, which is located in Orange County and is the first city outside of Los Angeles County to contract with LACoFD.
The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) provides fire, emergency medical, and allied public safety services for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church in Virginia, USA. It is highly regarded within the profession as an innovator and leader in enhancing the industry. Among its many firsts are the hiring of the first female career firefighter in the world in 1974 and partnering with the United States Public Health Service to develop America's first Metropolitan Medical Strike Team to respond to the consequences of a chemical, biological or radiological terrorist attack.
The Seattle Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. The department is responsible for an area of 142.5 square miles (369 km2), including 193 miles (311 km) of waterfront, with a population of 713,700. There is a total of 1,065 employees with 981 uniformed personnel and 84 civilian employees.
The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS), officially the Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue Services (DFRS), is the public safety agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for Montgomery County, Maryland. The services are provided by a combination of paid county personnel and volunteer members of the various independent, non-profit volunteer fire and rescue corporations located throughout the county.
In the United States, emergency medical services (EMS) provide out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care for those in need. They are regulated at the most basic level by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sets the minimum standards that all states' EMS providers must meet, and regulated more strictly by individual state governments, which often require higher standards from the services they oversee.
Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) provides fire and EMS services to the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. It operates from 27 fire stations, and 3 administration offices across the city.
The Detroit Fire Department (DFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan.
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) is a US based, non-profit certification organization for pre-hospital emergency medical providers that exists to ensure that every Emergency Medical Technician has the knowledge and skills required for competent practice.
The Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD) provides fire and rescue protection and emergency medical services to the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. In total the department serves 278 square miles (720 km2).
The Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department (PGFD) is a combination career/volunteer county-level agency that provides fire prevention, fire protection, emergency medical services, rescue services and community outreach programs for residents of Prince George's County, Maryland. The department is composed of volunteers from 33 fire companies throughout the county, that are represented by the Prince George's County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, as well as career firefighters affiliated with the Prince George's County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association, IAFF Local 1619. According to the Firehouse Magazine 2010 Combination Fire Department Run Survey, the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department covers a response area of approximately 580 miles, protects approximately 900,000 people, and has an annual operating budget of $132 million. Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department responded to 148,506 calls in 2016 according to the 2016 National Run Survey. 29,702 of those calls were fire related and 118,804 that were EMS calls, making Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department the busiest combination fire department in the United States to submit statistics.
Firefighting in the United States dates back to the earliest European colonies in the Americas. Early firefighters were simply community members who would respond to neighborhood fires with buckets. The first dedicated volunteer fire brigade was established in 1736 in Philadelphia. These volunteer companies were often paid by insurance companies in return for protecting their clients.
Kenneth B. Ellerbe was an American firefighter who served as the fire chief of the District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department from January 1, 2011 to July 2, 2014. He was chosen by mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray in December 2010.
The history of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, which grew gradually as volunteer companies formed between 1770 and 1860, then more rapidly with the addition of paid members starting in 1864 and the transition to a fully paid department in 1871, has been marked in recent years by various controversies and scandals.
The Vancouver Fire Department (VFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Vancouver and, by contract to Clark County Fire District 5, in Washington, United States. The VFD's response area is 89.2 square miles (231 km2) with a population of over 297,400. The VFD has the highest call volume per firefighter in the state. ALS transport is provided by AMR, making the VFD's service area population by far the largest in Western Washington without public ALS ambulance service.
The City of Cleveland Division of Emergency Medical Service, also known as Cleveland EMS or CEMS, is the division of the municipal government tasked with emergency ambulance transport for the City of Cleveland, Ohio. It is a third service, operating as part of the public safety department.
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