Problems with the D.C. Fire Department

A GAP client, a D.C. Fire Captain, has suffered retaliation as a result of blowing the whistle on improper actions by the department taken in the wake of a major fire earlier this year. GAP filed suit on the client’s behalf last week to stop the department from forcing her to take an unjust psychological examination. This transcript story from ABC Washington has a video link to the video piece. From the transcript:

“She was made a scapegoat,” said Richard Condit, senior counsel for the Government Accountability project. Condit represents people claiming protection as whistleblowers, a category that now includes D.C. Fire and EMS Capt. Vanessa Coleman.
Condit believes the fire department blames Capt. Coleman for the fire spreading.
The fire report clearly states the blaze began in the basement. Condit says it was Capt. Coleman's initial responsibility with Engine Company 21 to check the basement, but she was re-directed to the third floor, according to recordings of the D.C. fire department's radio transmission.

ABC News 7 has been reporting recently on the numerous troubles inside the D.C. Fire Department. Two other firefighter/whistleblowers have been retaliated against for raising concerns about the Eastern Market fire last year (here’s a Washington City Paper article about that).

The current state of the D.C. Fire Department deserves more scrutiny. Hopefully more journalists, and the mayor and city counsel, will get interested. Check out GAP’s full press release regarding the suit here.

-- Dylan Blaylock