Mayor Adrian Fenty’s 2011 budget calls for the District’s hazardous materials unit to merge with an existing fire engine company, under a structure that would force the company to shut down during hazmat calls.
Sixteen firefighters, four sergeants, three lieutenants and one captain staff the existing Fire and Emergency Medical Services hazardous materials unit 24 hours a day. Housed in Engine Company 12 at 2225 Fifth St. NE, the unit responded to 895 calls in 2009.
Under the proposed structure, hazmat would operate like the FEMS foam unit, which responds to fires involving fuel and other hazardous materials, and is in service during all presidential helicopter landings. When the foam unit goes into service, the engine company in which it is housed — Engine Company 13 at 450 Sixth St. SW — goes out of service.
That means one fire company will shut down whenever there is a hazmat incident, nearly three times a day.
Pete Piringer, fire department spokesman, would only say the agency is “constantly evaluating emergency and support services” and the “most efficient and cost-effective manner for providing service” is always a consideration. He would not say which company would house hazardous materials.
“I think it sounds like a risky proposition, that it’s a backhanded way of closing a firehouse without closing it,” said at-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee.
The change will save $1.78 million, according to Fenty’s budget.
“While [hazmat] serves a critical function in the nation’s capital, its call volume is low when compared to the call volume of other units and companies and, as a result, the unit has a lot of down time when it is not responding to calls,” according to budget documents.
Call volume for Fire and Emergency Medical Services engine companies ranges from 1,500 to 3,600 per year on the low end, to 4,200 to 6,600 calls on the high end, plus 775 to 5,000 calls for ambulance service.
While most D.C. agencies face budget cuts, Fenty is asking for a 2.4 percent increase for FEMS, from $189.5 million in 2010 to $194 million in 2011. Most of the additional spending is directed to salary and fringe benefit increases.
