By Peter Hermann
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — A recent string of operational problems and misconduct allegations has embroiled the D.C. fire department and prompted concerns that a dysfunctional agency is undermining public safety.
The department’s troubles run the gamut: a labor-management spat over a visit by firefighters to the White House, charges of sexual harassment at the training academy, and the death by heart attack of a man who waited 29 minutes for an ambulance on a day when more than 100 firefighters called in sick.
In the background are long-standing tensions between managers and the local firefighters union over the direction of the department. The relationship hasn’t been helped by discord over management proposals that would deal with such concerns as longer emergency response times and a shortage of paramedics, in part, by concentrating more shifts during peak times of the day.
Full story: D.C. fire department labor-managment strife complicates issues of response time, staffing