Milton Douglas
District of Columbia Assistant Fire Chief Milton Douglas took over the fledgling internal affairs division for the fire department earlier this year. In his new role, Douglas, a District native, is part firefighter, part police officer. He’s charged with keeping a sometimes unruly fire department in order.
Q. Why was the internal affairs division formed?
A. Internal affairs is about sending a message that we’re serious about the expectation that our employees act in a professional manner. Basically, there had been complaints from different areas about the misconduct of the department’s employees and we recognized a need to combat that. … The division incorporated three internal affairs investigators from Metro police. … It’s here to ensure that we provide the highest level of professionalism throughout our agency.
Q. What types of investigations have you conducted?
A. I can’t get into specifics, but I can say that we investigate instances of professional misconduct and criminal behavior. Internal affairs operates under the guidelines of standard law enforcement, which prevent speaking about specifics. We look into anything that may undermine the public’s trust in the fire department, and that trust is important to being able to do our jobs.
Q. Where do the complaints come from?
A. We’re a clearing house. We receive complaints from all over. They come from the public — we have a tip line set up and a link on our Web site — and we receive tips from within the department, and we in turn investigate.
Q. How has it been going so far?
A. We’re starting to get a lot of feedback. It takes time for the unit to fall into place.
Q. What inspired you to a career in firefighting?
A. I’ve wanted to be a firefighter since I was 6 or 7. I understood what firefighters had to do and I had strong admiration and wanted to become one. I’ve been with the District fire department for 21 years.
