D.C. firefighters and the people they protect are threatened by abysmal conditions plaguing District fire stations, including non-functioning smoke detectors, rodent infestations, leaking roofs, cracked walls and unabated asbestos, an inspection concluded.
A review of the city’s 33 firehouses and its fire-boat station, performed by the D.C. Inspector General during unannounced visits between May 19 and June 21, concluded that “building conditions … threaten the health, safety, comfort and effectiveness of [Fire and Emergency Medical Services] employees and negatively impact the work environment and employee morale.”
The final report, released Monday, listed problems at virtually every fire station. Inspectors found broken emergency alert systems, failed smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, exposed asbestos, broken windows, doors that didn’t lock, damaged floors, leaking roofs and clogged pipes. More than half of all stations did not have either a functioning heating or air-conditioning system. Seven stations had at least one inoperative toilet. And a third were infested with rodents.
The problems, the IG concluded, are “inexcusable and disheartening to employees who must work in these fire stations.” Staff who spend their time cleaning and repairing, the IG warned, “may compromise their energy levels and stamina to the pointwhere their response capabilities on an emergency call are affected.”
In his Oct. 23 response to the inspection, FEMS Chief Dennis Rubin said the department has made “significant strides” in facilities maintenance, but “our work is not done.” Limited dollars, a small staff and aging facilities have restricted the department’s ability to expedite projects, FEMS said.
Rubin ordered battery-operated smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed in all stations in July. A strategy to address all conditions found in the report will be completed by Dec. 28, the chief said.
D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson, chair of the public safety committee, said in a statement the District must make a similar effort repairing firehouses as it has renovating schools.
“Anything less is unacceptable,” Mendelson said.
The city’s six-year capital improvements program invests $124.2 million in the fire department. A spokeswoman for Mayor Adrian Fenty would not say whether there are plans to increase that spending.
What inspectors found:
» Station 1, 2225 M St. NW: Slide pole out of service, broken ground-floor and second-floor windows
» Station 3, 439 New Jersey Ave. NW: Live, pigeon-sized bird in the top floor, peeling paint and exposed electrical wires
» Station 6, 1300 New Jersey Ave. NW: Two doors can’t be opened for departing emergency vehicles
» Station 17, 1227 Monroe St. NE: Interior flooding due to clogged external drains
» Station 19, 2813 Pennsylvania Ave. SE: Water-damaged ceiling tiles and inoperative showers
