D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Kenneth Ellerbe is banning firefighters and paramedics from continuing to wear on-the-job attire that says “DCFD.”
New clothing must say “emergency medical services” or “FEMS,” or firefighters could face discipline.
Firefighters and emergency medical technicians will have to bear the costs of the change themselves — typically in the hundreds of dollars. Not all of the department’s more than 2,000 workers have embraced it.
“The department is in a crosscrunch. We haven’t had a raise in five years, they’re considering layoffs, and we’re worrying about T-shirts?” grumbled one firefighter with more than 25 years with the department.
He asked to not be identified by The Washington Examiner for fear of retribution.
D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Pete Piringer said the change was a result of the 2006 Rosenbaum task force, which recommended cross-training firefighters and EMTs in both disciplines and recognizing both equally.
“I wouldn’t say it’s an identity crisis, but most of what we do is EMS related,” Piringer said.
Another veteran firefighter told The Examiner he is concerned because the back of the new shirts must read “FEMS” in 4-inch-high letters, and some residents may mistake firefighters for federal agents and flee, putting them and the rescuers in danger. Prince George’s County firefighters are taught to keep their helmets on so they won’t be misidentified as being part of some tactical police squad, he said.
The new logo is actually the one used from the mid-1990s until 2007, when then-D.C. Fire and EMS Chief Dennis Rubin came up with a different design.
D.C. fire union President Ed Smith said he has received numerous calls from members upset over being forced to buy new clothes again.
One recent hire just spent more than $400 on clothing—five T-shirts for $14 each, a $140 jacket, three heavy-duty sweat shirts for $144, three caps for $45 and a skullcap for $12.
The union was not consulted in the recent changes, said Smith, who said he’s more concerned about the safety of his members and a lack of fire-retardant gear for all of the firefighters.
“If a sane person steps back and looks at it, it’s petty,” he said. “But it would have gone over a lot easier if the firefighters were involved at the outset.”
On Tuesday, Smith asked Ellerbe to give the firefighters a 120-day grace period. Ellerbe met with D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson and has agreed to give firefighters 90 days to make the change, Mendelson said.
