Mayor Adrian Fenty called home a local talent to rebuild a demoralized District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department marred by long response times and a botched call that led to a veteran journalist’s death.
Atlanta fire chief Dennis Rubin, 54, returns to his birthplace and the city where he finished first in his fire school class 36 years ago.
Rubin will succeed Adrian Thompson, whom the new mayor dismissed following an investigation into the city’s emergency response to newsman David Rosenbaum’s fatal beating, which revealed widespread problems in the agency.
The department has suffered delayed ambulance times, incorrect dispatches and communication breakdowns during dangerous runs. It’s had difficulty filling 200 vacancies.
Fenty has vowed to fix the city’s emergency system. Government sources have told The Examiner that the District is close to settling a $20 million lawsuit the Rosenbaum family filed that would require major changes to the way fire, police and ambulances respond.
Rubin said reforming the agency will take time, but he promised to make it the “gold standard” of fire and EMS departments.
“I don’t think that it was broken overnight,” Rubin said. “And I don’t think it’ll be fixed overnight.”
For three years, Rubin headed the Atlanta fire department, where he was credited for turning around a poorly rated EMS system. Rubin leaves an agency of 960 people and a $56.4 million budget to lead one of about 2,000 employees and a budget of $160 million.
Rubin began as a line firefighter in D.C. at the fire station at Florida and Trinidad avenues near his parents’ home in Northeast Washington.
Rubin served as the president of the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association and as an adjunct faculty member of the National Fire Academy, writing more than 130 technical articles. He is the contributing editor to Firehouse Magazine and has authored a book, titled “Rube’s Rules for Survival: A Collection of Case Studies.”
Fenty also nominated Darrell Darnell to serve as director of the Emergency Management Agency. Darnell comes from IME, where he helped cities handle disasters and terrorism threats.
Darnell will replace Barbara Childs-Pair, who will retire after 36 years with the city. During her tenure, she participated in eight presidential inaugurations, the 1982 Air Florida crash and snowstorm, the 1977 hostage incident at District headquarters and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
