Yesterday, the District's Fire Engine Company 24 celebrated a full century of putting out fires. But more than that, the company, which is located in Petworth, commemorated a rich history that includes it being the first one in the city to switch from using horses to motorized vehicles. more ›

This afternoon, D.C. Fire and EMS responded to a mass casualty incident inside the Second Genesis rehabilitation center at 1324 Harvard Street NW. more ›

Good morning, Washington. If you were hoping for a brighter weekend, you’ll be sorely disappointed. A thick fog at dawn gives way to a sticky, damp Saturday. While rain isn't certain, prepare for another couple of gray days. more ›

We had heard rumblings this morning about a meeting held inside the corridors of the Wilson Building concerning the future of the popular D.C. Fire and EMS Twitter feed -- and the result of that conference is a big win for some ten thousand local tweeters. more ›

Mayor Vince Gray's bi-weekly press conference was derailed today over concerns that his administration was backtracking on promises of transparency by encrypting police radio communications and limiting the use of the popular D.C. Fire/EMS Twitter account. more ›

Back in September, we reported on an alarming uptick of suspicious car fires in Columbia Heights -- many of which the fire department classified as "mechanical" fires, rather than arson. The frequency of car fires around the area subsided after we wrote that post -- but early on Wednesday morning, another car, a Nissan SUV, exploded into flames on the 1500 block of Spring Road NW. more ›

We noted in today's Morning Roundup that Vince Gray is reportedly set to announce that he will replace outgoing D.C. Fire and EMS Chief Dennis Rubin with former D.C. deputy fire chief Kenneth Ellerbe, who is currently working as the chief of Sarasota, Florida's fire department. Ellerbe has a long history with D.C. Fire and EMS, even having served as the department's interim chief for four months in 2000. Ellerbe, however, didn't have the cleanest transition when he left the District earlier this year. more ›

This morning, fire and hazmat crews responded to a report of a chemical spill in the basement of the Capital Hilton, located at 1001 16th Street NW. more ›

It takes a special kind of idiot to decide to get up on the roof of a house with an open flame, but that's exactly what some workers in the Rockville area of Montgomery County did on Tuesday, the Post reports. They were apparently trying to use a propane torch to clear ice from the roof. Smarties, these ones. more ›

Read this fascinating story from The New York Times on the D.C. Fire Department's Engine Company 10, by all accounts the busiest firehouse in the country. These Trinidad firefighters at the "House of Pain" spend most of their time not fighting fires, but rather serving as emergency medical responders.

About 80 percent of the calls handled by Engine Company 10 are medical emergencies because the firehouse serves one of the city’s poorest areas, where few residents have health insurance, doctors’ checkups are rare, and medical problems are left to fester until someone dials 911.

Some scaffolding collapsed under a pair of window washers this morning, causing the D.C. fire department to launch a daring high-angle rescue. It happened about 7:30 a.m. at an 11-story building at 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW. more ›

A construction worker fell down a shaft in a building under construction near the intersection of 1st and K Streets NE around 9 a.m. this morning. D.C. Fire/EMS responded to a call of a worker who had fallen at 90 K Street NE. The man fell about 20 feet, according to fire department spokesperson Pete Piringer. A crane is in use at the scene to help remove the injured worker. more ›

From the files of our worst nightmares: ten people, six adults and four children, got trapped inside the elevator at the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro station this afternoon, according to D.C. Fire/EMS. The call came in around 2:45 p.m., and units from the high angle rescue team are now on the scene and working to get them out - the elevator is reportedly stuck halfway down the elevator shaft. We'd like to buy all of these folks an ice cream cone once they get out of there. more ›

D.C. Fire and EMS responded to a call about a possible explosion at Union Station at about 11:45 a.m. FEMS units are on scene investigating, but have yet to determine whether an explosion took place. more ›

A fire broke out in a second floor classroom at Anacostia Senior High School, located at 1601 16th Street SE, this morning. more ›

View Approved DC Fireworks Stands 2009 in a larger map more ›

So sayeth City Paper's Jason Cherkis, who first broke this now kinda funny story on Sunday. From the D.C. FEMS press release:

The District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department met with the Washington Nationals to identify additional measures to ensure spectator safety during pyrotechnic activities at Nationals Park. These new measures will be put in place to serve as an additional layer of protection to reduce debris when fireworks are used during the National Anthem, when the team takes the field, and during the Nationals’ homeruns and victories. Normal pyrotechnic activities will resume for the next home game.

In case you missed it over the weekend, yesterday City Desk reported the bizarre news that D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin went to the Nats game and subsequently shut down the ballpark's long-running fireworks display for the foreseeable future. The ballpark reportedly has the correct permits and nothing unusual happened at Sunday's game, so what's the deal? Apparently, some bits of debris fell on the chief himself:

Fire Department spokesperson Alan Etter confirmed the basic account via e-mail. more ›

D.C. Fire/EMS is reporting an apartment fire on the first floor of a residential building at 253 V Street NW. Streets in the surrounding area, including V Street, 2nd St. NW, and 3rd St. NW are currently blocked off as firefighters work to control the blaze. At least one adult female is being treated for minor smoke inhalation. more ›

D.C. Wire tips us off to a new Twitter feed and Facebook page for the D.C. Fire Department and EMS services. In a nod to the Washington Post city desk's sometimes strained relationship to blogging, they don't actually provide you with direct links to the new features, instead just suggesting that you search for them yourself, so here you go: twitter.com/dcfireems and Dc Fireems on Facebook. DC Fire/EMS spokesperson Alan Etter told D.C. Wire he plans to post breaking news and other official department updates on the Twitter feed, which today has already garnered entertaining results. To wit: more ›

Last night WJLA went with a story about how 28 percent of the District's firefighters failed to pass the national registry exam for EMTs. The city's emergency responders are now required to pass the national test under an agreement reached between the District and the family of late New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum, who died due to EMT negligence. I realize that in post-Sept. 11 America, all firefighters are heroes and you're not supposed to say anything bad about them ever, but I'm about to break that rule. If you want to read some seriously whiny, high school-style complaining, read the story. Grown men who fight fires for a living took the time to tell a local TV news station that they feel this nationally accepted test wasn't fair and that the department didn't help them prepare enough. Deputy Fire Chief Kenneth Crosswhite has the most reasonable reaction: "You have to take a look at yourself in the mirror and say did I do everything that I could do to pass this test? Did I study on my own? Did I ask for help?" The department allows those who failed the exam three more chances, so buckle down and study, guys. more ›

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NBC4 reports today on an investigation launched by the D.C. Fire Department after an allegedly insensitive letter was read aloud at the Engine 30 firehouse in Northeast. According to the report, the letter, read by the station's lieutenant, was supposed to be a humorous attempt at introducing a new crew member. Instead, the letter included what was seen as potentially disparaging remarks, implying he's gay. more ›

CNN is reporting that the Eisenhower Executive Office Building is on fire. From the looks of it firefighters have already gotten the worst of the flames, which began as an electrical problem on the 3rd floor, under control, but a small amount of smoke is still coming out of the building. No injuries have been reported. more ›

Still in the office, D.C.? Yeah, us too. We hope you're only sticking around because you don't need to travel this holiday season. If so, enjoy the empty halls, bask in the quiet, and call it a day early. If not — well, good luck on the roads and at the airport. It sounds like they're going to be predictably nasty. There Seems To Be Some Sort of Holiday Occurring: And consequently you can... more ›

The Associated Press is reporting that seven cars of a freight train have derailed over the Anacostia River. No injuries have been reported. Six of the seven cars are in the river, and another is hanging off the trestle. Coal and some hydraulic fluid and oil ended up in the river, but the fire department says it's been contained. We'll update again when we learn more. UPDATE 4:45 p.m. Thanks to an anonymous reader... more ›

>> The D.C. Fire Department and WASA have finally agreed to play nice and share their toys and fix the city's terrible fire hydrant mess. We promise to provide the warm cookies and cold milk should they succeed. [WaPo] >> The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch to remain in effect through Saturday morning for much of the D.C. area. [NBC4] >> The sidewalk of 7th St. NW in front of the... more ›

Over the weekend the Post published an update to the Adams Morgan water pressure saga. Turns out firefighters did not tap into a much closer hydrant connected to a larger water main due to a false assumption about which main it was connected to. The fire department continues to point the finger at WASA, however, saying that it is nearly impossible for firefighters in the field to know which hydrants are connected to what kind... more ›

Good morning, Washington. If you're the kind of person who delights in reading angry product reviews on consumer web sites, head over here and read some of the comments about the Presidential Inn on New York Ave. Highlights include "I have never been so disgusted with a place in all my life," "I can't even believe that it is running legally," and, tellingly, "upon my departure I noticed small red bumps all over my body."... more ›

You know what they say -- better one scandal too late than never at all. We've received word from the office of Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) that tomorrow afternoon he'll be hosting a public roundtable on the Water and Sewer Agency, which has had something of a rough year so far. Reads an email from Graham: I will be holding a public roundtable on the status of the public water main system in... more ›