It’s no secret that there’s little love lost between D.C. Fire and EMS Chief Kenneth Ellerbe and the rank-and-file firefighters and paramedics. You might expect a natural enmity between management and union members in any public workforce — especially police and fire — but the relationship between Ellerbe and his troops is getting untenable, dare I say dangerous.

It’s getting so bad that I’m worried basic safety of D.C. residents could be compromised — especially when you factor in the city’s aging fleet of fire trucks and ambulances, and the 200 vacancies in the department, and the paramedics who are fleeing the force. And the basic mistrust.