WASHINGTON — The D.C. fire department plans to conduct extensive criminal background checks on 1,800 employees after a series of arrests involving its firefighters in recent months.
The Washington Times reported that Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe issued a special order notifying employees they have 10 days to report any arrests from the last three years or face termination.
“Members shall receive this notice as information that the agency shall pursue, at the culmination of this period, an extensive criminal background check of every operational employee utilizing all legally authorized methods of review,” states the special order, issued Friday.
The order applies to about 1,800 fire department employees, including all those who man fire trucks and ambulances but excluding civilian employees with desk jobs, department spokesman Tim Wilson said .
“Any employee who is found to have failed to report prior infractions, particularly where a citation for DUI, DWI, or an arrest of any type has occurred, shall be subject to termination,” the order states.
Eleven firefighters have been arrested since October, most recently a firefighter arrested for driving drunk and illegally carrying a handgun in his car, according to the report.
“The only instances where background checks are done on current employees are for those who work in operations that have been put on a presidential inauguration detail,” Wilson wrote in an email.
According to agency performance records, the department pledged in FY2009 to conduct background checks on its then 2,100 members. The records indicate only 133 background checks were completed that year, according to the report.
Former Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin called for periodic background checks on employees in 2007.
“It took nearly all four years of my watch to implement the needed steps for consistent background checks and monitoring system,” former Chief Rubin wrote in his 2013 book, “D.C. Fire.” “From what I understand, those steps have since been reversed.”
D.C. councilmember Tommy Wells said he plans to publicly inquire into the arrests of city firefighters, according to the report.
“Obviously we are all distressed. Anybody driving an emergency vehicle without a license is a terrible breach of public trust,” Wells said. “I will consult with the chief and deputy mayor of public safety to get their assurance that we have a warning system.”