Until yesterday, I was unaware that the District’s firefighters work eight 24-hour shifts a month, and that 40 percent of them live over 30 miles away from the city. These may seem like disconnected little factoids, but they’re playing into what could well be a nasty battle between firefighters and the District over how much they should work.

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…

D.C. Fire/EMS is reporting that four people were shot just before 5 p.m. near North Capitol and R Streets NW, one in critical condition and the rest with serious injuries, all being transported to the hospital. The incident is the second shooting to happen in the same vicinity since this morning. An unidentified individual was shot in the ankle before 10 a.m. this morning near 1st Street NW and Florida Ave. NW. View Multiple Shootings…

Photo by andertho An AP story is making the rounds of the broadcast outlets (WTOP has some of its own reporting as well) about how D.C. firefighters rescued a bunch of baby ducklings from a storm drain near 16th and U Streets NW early this morning. Neighbors called the fire department after the mama duck alerted them to her babies’ predicament with her incessant honking. From WTOP: “Three firefighters from Engine Company No. 9,…

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…

One more update on Firetruckgate from the Examiner’s Michael Neibauer to end out the week. D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles is now defending the mysterious donation of an older D.C. government firetruck and ambulance to a resort town in the Dominican Republic, saying that the vehicles were properly declared surplus by the Office of Contracting and Procurement and lawfully donated to non-profit Peaceaholics, the group that arranged the donation. Even so, both vehicles have since…

A fire broke out in a third-floor residence in the Park Towers apartment building at 2440 16th Street NW. The District of Columbia Fire Department was able to put out the fire by approximately 3 p.m. this afternoon, before it spread to any other units. No one was injured. One DCFD firefighter said that the burned unit was rendered “untenable.” A DCFD investigator had not yet determined the cause of the fire by the time…

An update on this morning’s fire in the 1000 block of F Street NW, from the Post. Five firefighters who responded to the two-alarm blaze required medical care after the fire was contained: one broke his hand, and four others were treated for medical issues related to exertion, including elevated blood pressure. It also looks like the building in question was the one that housed that D.C.-themed souvenir shop, though the fire began in a…

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…

Both Fox 5 and WJLA picked up a story about a D.C. fire captain who stands accused of raping a friend of his daughter. Court documents show that a 23-year-old woman has filed rape charges against Capt. Tony Sneed, a 20-year veteran of the DCFD. The victim alleges that she passed out at a party at Sneed’s daughter’s house wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and woke up wearing only the T-shirt. Much of the evidence…