FEMS, Metro Trade Barbs on Crash Communication

The Washington Times reports that D.C. Fire/EMS and WMATA aren't happy with each other in terms of how the two agencies communicated the details of yesterday's crash:

Fire officials stated bluntly Monday night that Metro's original description of the accident understated its magnitude, and it was only when the first rescuers arrived at the scene that the sort of help needed was finally summoned.

"A little after five o'clock we responded to what was believed to be a small incident," D.C. Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin said. "The first arriving company recognized the fact that apparently two trains had collided." Fire officials eventually sounded three alarms, summoning hundreds of rescuers and implementing their mass- casualty operations.

The Post's Lena Sun also got this quote: "The spirit of cooperation is not what we would like it to be," Metro spokesperson Candace Smith said.