Photo by ohad*.

Photo by ohad*.

One day after holding a hearing on death of a man who was not aided by five firefighters while suffering a fatal hear attack near a fire station, Councilmember Tommy Wells has called for Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Paul Quander and Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe to resign.

In a letter delivered to Mayor Vincent Gray, Wells said the “request is not based on a single incident,” but rather “systematic mismanagement.”

“From burning ambulances, uncertified fire trucks, and no procurement plan to adequately equip our fire and emergency personnel, to a shortage of paramedics, delayed response to emergencies, and poor training and management, this department has enormous and urgent challenges to overcome. Yet the administration has no coherent plan to improve the department’s performance,” Wells writes. “Blaming racial divisions, union membership, or other perceived motivations for the department’s dysfunction must end.”

At the five-hour hearing yesterday, Quander said the death of Medric “Cecil” Mills had “nothing … to do with policy and procedure,” but with the “character” of those involved.

“Appropriate and proper protocols were not followed by the members of the fire and emergency medical services,” he added. Ellerbe said when he heard about Mills’ death he was “furious.”

A report prepared by Quander’s office on Mills’ death recommends that five firefighters and four unnamed Office of Unified Communications employees involved should be disciplined, but did not specify how. Ellerbe said yesterday he expects that the “proper members” will be convened to discipline those involved.

A spokesman for the mayor said the letter is “another idiotic political stunt on Councilmember Wells’ part.”

“We’re talking about the same Councilmember who actively blocked the chief’s scheduled reforms, so at best he’s a hypocrite,” he continued. Last summer, Wells rejected a plan Ellerbe to redeploy some ambulances from overnight to daytime hours, saying the Fire and EMS Department has “failed to produce evidence or documentation supporting the number of ambulances, it says are needed, to provide timely medical care during the peak demand times of service.”

When asked if Mayor Vince Gray still stands behind Quander and Ellerbe, his spokesman said “they’re still at work today. They’ll be at work tomorrow.”

Filed Under: deputy mayor for public safety, kenneth ellerbe, paul quander, tommy wells,