district of columbia fire and emergency medical services department district of columbia fire and emergency medical services department the district of columbia fire and emergency medical services department (also known as dc fems, fems, dcfd, dc fire, or dc fire & ems), established july 1, 1804, provides fire protection and emergency medical service for the district of columbia, in the united states. an organ of the devolved district government, fire & ems is responsible for providing fire suppression, ambulance service and hazardous materials containment for the federal district. district of columbia fire and emergency medical services departmentoperational areacountry united statesfederal district district of columbiaagency overviewestablishedjuly 1, 1804 (1804-07-01)annual calls~212,459 (2019)employees2,153 (2019)annual budget$258,502,000 (2019)staffingcareerfire chiefjohn a. donnelly sr.mayor of washington, dc responsiblemuriel bowserems levelals and blsiaff36facilities and equipmentbattalions9 (6 firefighting battalions, 1 special operations battalion, 1 safety battalion, 1 ems battalion)stations34 stationsengines33 enginestillers15 tiller trucksplatforms1 platform truckrescues3 rescuesambulances17 advanced life support (als) ambulances and 22 basic life support (bls) ambulanceshazmat2 hazmat unitsusar1 urban search and rescue unitwildland1 wildfire enginefireboats2 fireboatslight and air2 light and air unitswebsiteofficial websiteiaff website history a dcfd fire engine in december 2005. dcfd engine company #23 (foggy bottom firehouse) dcfd engine 7 on january 13, 1803, district of columbia passed its first law about fire control, requiring the owner of each building in the district to provide at least one leather firefighting bucket per story or pay a $1 fine per missing bucket. the first firefighting organizations in the district were private volunteer companies. to end the problems created by rivalries between these companies, district of columbia approved in 1864 an act to consolidate them and organize a paid fire department. seven years passed before it was implemented on september 23, 1871, creating the all-professional district of columbia fire department (dcfd) with a combination of paid and volunteer staff. the department had seven paid firefighters and 13 call men to answer alarms, manning three engines and two ladders. by 1900, the dcfd had grown to 14 engine companies, four ladder companies, and two chemical companies. in 1968, the entire dcfd was mobilized during the riots that followed the assassination of martin luther king jr. the four days of disorder saw widespread civil unrest, looting and arson, which ultimately required help with 70 outside companies to battle over 500 fires and perform 120 rescues. in the 1970s and 1980s, the department was rife with racial tension, as the nearly all-white department became much more racially integrated and african americans sought upper-level supervisory and management positions. 2010s budget and maintenance problems main article: history of the district of columbia fire and emergency medical services department in january 2010, the washington examiner reported that, in a major management failure, the agency failed to budget for seniority pay in its fiscal 2010 budget, causing a $2 million shortfall. after a hiring freeze left 130 positions unfilled, the department was projected to spend $15.4 million in fiscal 2010 (2.5 times the budgeted amount). more than 75 percent of the agency's budget goes to salaries and fringe benefits. problems with vehicle maintenance also worsened after 2010. the department lost track of the location of reserve vehicles, and sometimes listed fire engines as available for duty when they had been stripped for parts and sent to the junkyard. in 2012, the agency hired a consultant at a cost of $182,000 to create an accurate database of vehicle status and location. both the d.c. council and the district of columbia's inspector general have strongly criticized the department's record. the district of columbia firefighters association, local 36, and the international association of firefighters (iaff) have argued that the problem lies with poor management, while dcfems has said the problems either cannot be accounted for or are the result of rank-and-file incompetence or neglect. in july 2013, more than 60 dcfems ambulances were out of commission due to maintenance issues, and the department was forced to hire a private ambulance service to provide staffing at a major league baseball game. on august 8, 2013, a dcfems ambulance ran out of fuel while part of president barack obama's motorcade, and ended up stranded on the south lawn of the white house (ems personnel said they reported a broken fuel gauge months ago, while dcfems said workers failed to fill the vehicle with gasoline.) on august 13, 2013, two dcfems ambulances caught fire—one while delivering a patient to medstar washington hospital center, the other while responding to an emergency call at an apartment building on benning road se (another ambulance was dispatched to take the patient to the hospital.) in june 2015, jullette m. saussy was named the medical director of dc fire and ems. on january 29, 2016, she announced her resignation from that position in a letter to mayor muriel bowser. in her letter, she called the department's culture "highly toxic to the delivery of any semblance of quality pre-hospital medical care." stations and apparatus engine 10 and truck 13's quarters in trinidad. engine 20 and truck 12's firehouse in tenleytown firehouse 13 in l'enfant plaza as of june 2015, these are the dcfd's stations and equipment. firehouse number neighborhood engine company truck company or tower company rescue squad company ambulance or medic unit specialized unit command unit battalion 1 west endengine 1truck 2ambulance 1medic 1twin agent unit 26 2 chinatownengine 2rescue squad 1medic 2field command unit mobile command unit rescue squad 1 support unit battalion chief 6 ems 6 6 3 columbiaengine 3medic 3 ambulance 3water supply engine 526 4 pleasant plainsengine 4ambulance 4air unit 1 customer service unit 4 mass decon ems 7 safety officer special operations battalion chief 4 5 georgetownengine 5medic 5canteen unit 1 rehab unit 5 6 shawengine 6truck 4ambulance 61 7 navy yardengine 7medic 7brush unit 12 8 lincoln parkengine 8ambulance 8 medic 8 air unit 2 customer service unit 2 mass decon battalion chief 2 ems 2 2 9 u streetengine 9truck 9ambulance 94 10 trinidadengine 10truck 13medic 101 11 columbia heightsengine 11truck 6ambulance 11water supply engine 54battalion chief 4 ems 4 4 12 edgewoodengine 12ambulance 12customer service unit 1 gator 1 hazmat unit 1 hazmat unit 2 battalion chief 1 ems 1 1 13 l'enfant plazaengine 13truck 10ambulance 13foam unit 1 foam unit 2 foam unit trailer twin agent unit 1 6 14 fort tottenengine 14ambulance 14medic 141 15 anacostiaengine 15rescue squad 3ambulance 15cave-in unit cave-in support unit customer service unit 3 rescue squad 3 support unit battalion chief 3 ems 3 3 16 franklin parkengine 16tower 3ambulance 16 deputy fire chief of operations ems 8 6 17 brooklandengine 17medic 171 18 capitol hillengine 18truck 7ambulance 182 19 randle highlandsengine 19ambulance 19 ambulance 19b medic 19 3 20 tenleytownengine 20truck 12ambulance 20battalion chief 5 ems 5 5 21 adams morganengine 21medic 21water supply engine 555 22 brightwoodengine 22truck 11ambulance 224 23 foggy bottomengine 23ambulance 236 24 petworthengine 24rescue squad 2medic 24confined space unit mass casualty unit 1 mass casualty support unit 1 mass casualty support unit 2 medical ambulance bus 1 medical ambulance bus 2 rescue squad 2 support unit arson investigation officer4 25 congress heightsengine 25medic 25mass decon3 26 brentwoodengine 26truck 15ambulance 261 27 deanwoodengine 27ambulance 27 medic 272 28 cleveland parkengine 28truck 14ambulance 285 29 palisadesengine 29truck 5ambulance 29gator 25 30 capitol viewengine 30truck 17ambulance 30 ambulance 30b medic 302 31 chevy chaseengine 31medic 315 32 garfield heightsengine 32truck 16ambulance 323 33 highlandsengine 33truck 8ambulance 33 medic 33mass casualty unit 2 medical ambulance bus 3 3 southwest waterfrontfire boat 1 fire boat 2 fire boat 3 fire boat 4 fire boat support unit 6