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Q&A With Bob Levey
Washington Post Columnist
Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2001; Noon EST

"Levey Live" appears Tuesdays at noon EST. Your host is Washington Post columnist Bob Levey. This hour is your chance to talk directly to key Washington Post reporters and editors, local officials and people in the news.

Today, Bob’s guest is Ronnie Few, chief of the Washington, D.C. Fire/EMS Department.

The transcript follows.

Ronnie Few

In July 2000, Mayor Williams appointed Ronnie Few to lead Washington, D.C.’s Fire/EMS Department, which is charged with protecting the nation’s capital, its 600,000 residents, and the more than 22 million people who visit the city each year. Few comes to Washington from Augusta, Ga., where he served as chief of the Augusta-Richmond County Fire Department beginning in March 1997.

In Washington, D.C., Few has implemented several initiatives and programs to strengthen the fire department, including achieving full-funding to support five staff positions on all 16 city ladder trucks, developing a program to renovate and, in some cases, rebuild entire fire stations, further integrating the fire-fighting and emergency medical service divisions of the fire department, and upgrading fire-fighting and emergency medical equipment with new technology. He has also worked to develop legislation to create a cross-trained department, in which firefighters are trained to provide emergency medical services and EMS personnel are trained in fire-fighting.

Few is the recipient of the 1998 Fire Chief of the Year Award from the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute, and the 1999 Most Innovative Fire Chief of the Year from the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Bob Levey: Good afternoon, Chief, and thanks very much for joining us today. Let's begin with a question about Sept. 11. The events of that day revealed a few problems in your department. Radio frequencies couldn't connect with the frequencies of other departments. Evacuation plans were non-existent. And your department was expecte to protect the federal government and the citizens of the District of Columbia at the same time--a tall order. Have you made improvements in any of these areas?

Ronnie Few: Actually, we didn't have a lot of radio problems that day. With the number of additional apparatus that we put in place, there weren't very many problems. We noticed that cellular telephones didn't work that day, so now we've asked that they put priority phone lines on all our top administrative personnel phones. So we've remedied that problem. Unless it's in a building, the fire/EMS department doesn't worry so much about evacuation -- that's more a police problem, although our fire engines have to use the streets as well.

Philadephia, PA: Chief Few;

One of the major issues here in Philadelphia regarding fire/EMS is the alarming rate in which our firefighters/paramedics have been infected with Hepatitis B and the PFD's refusal to extend its benefits to cover these illnesses.

Is this an issue for the DCFD? How has the department dealt with it? If you had any words of advice for the PFD, what would you say?

Ronnie Few: We've had a lot of discussions concerning Hepatits B, and in next year's budget I'm going to try to implement a program that will cover Hepatitis B. As you aware, it is very expensive, but when it comes to safety, I'll spare no expense for firefighters' and EMS workers' safety.

Charlotte, NC: Chief Few, in light of the recent controversy about facial hair, are you going to implement face mask fit testing? I think all the fire service will be interested in how this problem is resolved.

Ronnie Few: More than ever, we have to be concerned about bioterrorism, and I've been quite concerned about our hair policy. I've lost the first round in court but it looks like we'll be appealing. Hopefully, the judge will look at it a bit differently this time. We will, in the future, use fit tests -- we have in the past.

Bob Levey: You're the District of Columbia's third fire chief in the last 2 1/2 years. Why has the job turned over so often and so quickly?

Ronnie Few: I'm quite aware of that 2.5 year stretch, and hopefully I can make it to 5 years. I feel like you need 5 years to make some of the different changes. There needs to be some stability in the top administration. But the national norm is about 3-5 years. It's a very taxing job, for any fire chief in America, just by the nature of our work. Sometimes it burns fire chiefs out. But I'll be here.

Bob Levey: Shortly after Sept. 11, some of your men assigned to the Pentagon were caught stealing expensive equipment that belonged to the Arlington County F.D. You said you'd look into the incident and discipline the men if necessary. Have you taken any action yet?

Ronnie Few: We've had a number of conversations between ourselves -- the chief of Arlington and myself -- concerning the equipment that was supposedly stolen. And we're still trying to figure out who took anything -- we're still not sure anyone took anything. When a fire occurs, equipment is exchanged between different departments, and we haven't gotten anyone to own up to anything. Arlington doesn't have any equipment missing and I don't have anything missing.

Washington, D.C.: How does one go about joining the D.C. Fire/EMS Department? What are some of the necessary qualifications? Is the department accepting new applicants right now?

Ronnie Few: We're looking for firefighters as well as EMS workers this year. We'll try to do a better job in hiring the very best in our city. You can look for us in the Internet as well as in the papers/media. You have to be 18 years old, have a valid driver's license, and you have to be in good physical condition. You have to pass the recruit class.

Bob Levey: You're on record as saying you want to cross-train your department so all firefighters are EMTs, and vice versa. The union has resisted this. Who's winning?

Ronnie Few: I feel we both want the same cross-training within the department. It's how we go about it that's trouble. Our two unions have concerns about the dual-role cross-training -- if a person becomes a firefighter in our department, although his speciality may be in being an EMT, he immediately goes into the firefighter's union. The EMS union opposes that, but that is a role that has existed in the department for a while.

HLB ~ Mt. Lebanon, PA: Jet engines dropping out of the sky, anthrax in the hallway, mustached Mohammeds seizing hostages on public transportation, sifting human remains from building rubble. I'll bet most of your career training didn't focus on these new vestiges of modern fire fighting. Are there plans afoot to make the modern firefighter into a New Age morph: half firefighter, half assault trooper? The military parallel is the Seabee: hammer in one hand, machine gun in the other. Thanks much. Signed, Navy Vietnam-era Vet.

Ronnie Few: Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would have to equip EMS (Emergency Medical Services) providers with the same level of equipment that firefighters wear. But we've started that in D.C. -- EMS providers have turnout gear, the protective clothing, and now we're on our way to installing air masks on all our ambulances.

Washington D.C.: Why at this time, with the threat of terrorisom high and daily threat updates from the FBI saying we are still a strong target for terrorism, are you transfering all this Departments most experienced and trained officers, when there is no training in place now, nor in the near future to train the new officers being placed in these positions. The training I am talking about includes Haz-Mat, Structual Collapse, Confined Space Rescue and so on. If you belive experience and training in these areas aren't important ask the Officers and Firefighters of the Fire Department of New York and our close neighbors of Montgomery and Fairfax Counties whos USAR Teams were on extensive duty at the pentagon?

Ronnie Few: All of our firefighters are trained to a certain level in Hazardous Material training in our department. Although my philosophy is, you don't transfer people unless there's a good reason, all of our fire station captains are paid the same, and so from time to time, in the best interests of the department, some people will be transferred. We will always make sure that our people are properly trained, and this coming year, I will be sending the entire department through a number of training exercises. In addition, we will roll out our new officers' courses and chief officers' courses.

Bob Levey: What's the situation with the overtime that your department ran up in the wake of Sept. 11? The mayor has asked Congress to pay it, but Congress hasn't yet. Will they?

Ronnie Few: It is my hope that we will be able to recover the costs of Sept. 11. Earlier this year, we were the first department in the United States to recover costs for fighting fire on federal property. Our fire/EMS services are looking to get a lot of money back in our department. We feel that Congress understands the importance of the department being fully funded.

Bob Levey: To lose 343 people in one instant would be a staggering loss for any fire department. Yet the New York F.D. seems to have pulled itself together pretty well, considering. Yesterday, after the plane crash in Queens, the NYFD seemed to be doing an excellent job. What is it about New York firefighters, chief? Are they made of tougher stuff?

Ronnie Few: We salute the efforts of the New York City fire department. They are a very courageous bunch. This city also has some of the most heroic firefighters and EMS providers working for D.C. fire/EMS. I witnessed the efforts at the Pentagon and at other fires that they've fought in our city.

Cross training: What if an EMS person can't meet the physical requirements of being a firefighter?

Ronnie Few: It will not be mandatory for those people who have been on the job for a number of years. New employees are asked to be dual-role cross-trained. Those existing employees will just be rewarded if they can do both.

Washington, DC: When will the fire stations around DC be renovated? Many stations are a major eyesore. Tenleytown in particular is one of the worst looking stations in the District with rotten wood, and no paint in many places...In addition are there plans for Tenleytown to get a new Engine? The truck looks like an antique.

Ronnie Few: We're looking for a ground-breaking at our Tenleytown station in the next month. In addition, we will actually be putting new equipment in that station as well. It's under budget and the numbers look good, and the station will be a very beautiful station.

Columbia Heights, D.C.: Mr. Few,

How do you account for the ridiculous number of wrong directions given, wwrong addresses provided by the dispatch staff and general cluelessness of those who are actually driving to the scene of an incident.

There have been entirely too many of these incdents and frankly the excuse that has occasionally been trotted out is lousy. The claim is that the dispatchers, drivers etc. get confused about the quadrants. If its so confusing, why do the rest of us residents not have such a problem?

Is there any plan to remedy this, or are we expected to file a map and directions before callin 911?

Ronnie Few: I'm aware of the problems that have existed in the past concerning wrong addresses and the general quality of dispatches. I can assure you, we're actually doing a much better job now. The number of training hours for dispatchers has doubled; we've upgraded their pay to entice better qualified individuals; we've worked out the problems with the computer aided dispatch system. So now our citizens are receiving a better quality of service when they're dialing the 9-1-1 center. And our response time has decreased in all areas. Even on the fire side, it's decreased.

Bob Levey: How many anthrax hoaxes has your department responded to in the last three weeks? And what will happen to the hoaxsters? I say the book should be thrown at them. What do you say?

Ronnie Few: We don't determine what is a hoax -- the FBI does that. We're averaging 33 responses to potential anthrax incidents every day. There were 54 in one day.

Annapolis MD: How big is the DC FD as opposed to the NYFD?
Also,is the DC FD helped out at all by the fedreal government? It would seem only right that a department which deals with so much of the federal government and its people would receive some financial help from them.

Ronnie Few: Our department is a little less than 2,000 people. And NYFD is somewhere from 12,000 to 15,000 firefighters. With the number of federal buildings, we will always be a threat for bioterrorism as well as fires. We're hoping that the federal government will give us some necessary funding, because we're a city with so many target hazards that we have to have large quantities of resources -- we have to over-protect.

Oakton, VA: Given the excellent service of the DCFD in the wake of the Sep. 11 bombing at the Pentagon, I've got just one thing to say...the Few, the proud, the firefighters. Well done, Chief.

Ronnie Few: Thank you.

Bob Levey: You made more than a few firefighters angry when you insisted that they wear regulation pajamas. Why did you insist on this?

Ronnie Few: Sleepwear is important in a bunk room. We have co-ed dormitories, and imagine your wife or your daughter going to bed and some guy isn't properly clothed. I tried to be very proactive about it, and later found out all the other fire departments have sleepwear as well -- Arlington's got it, Fairfax has got it.

Bob Levey: Your previous experience was in a much smaller city (Augusta, Ga.) Is a bigger city like Washington a much tougher place to be a fire chief?

Ronnie Few: The scope of the work is the same. There are only two types of departments -- functional and dysfunctional. Or, efficent and inefficient. When I started working in Augusta, some people thought that city was too small for me.

Bob Levey: Several times since Sept. 11, the FBI and the Attorney General have told top public safety officials to be on maximum alert. But you were already there! Any comment about whether these repeated warnings make it harder for your department to do its job?

Ronnie Few: We have redirected a number of our resources toward bioterrorism. Currently, we have two hazmat (hazardous materials) units in place, as we're looking to put up an additional two. We'll never let our guards down after Sept. 11.

Bob Levey: Right after Sept. 11, FDNY caps were the hottest things going. Entertainers wore them. Kids got them as birthday presents. The coach of the New York Jets wore one on Monday Night Football. Why haven't we seen more FDDC caps on the tube?

Ronnie Few: Actually, we just redesigned a new cap. And I look forward to many of our citizens and off-duty firefighters will wear the caps around town. In addition, our sleepwear is not actually sleepwear -- it can be worn outside for jogging and working out. Citizens can buy that sleepwear. We're setting up an online store where you can buy all this stuff.

Bob Levey: I recently spent an evening with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, and was very impressed with the level of service it provides, even though most of the staff there is volunteers. Any plans to use volunteers in the D.C. Department? What would the plusses and minuses be?

Ronnie Few: We will have volunteers, we talk about that. Currently we use seniors as volunteers for fire marshall. In a large city it's very difficult to use volunteers as structural firefighters -- the guys that go in and stop the fires -- because of the stress it puts on a person's body. Firefighters have a lot of heart attacks, for example. So we only use professionals for that.

D.C.: Hello, Chief. What is your educational background? Should firemen be required to have college degree or an AA degree?

Ronnie Few: I think it's important for anyone to get as many degrees as he can in the fire business. It makes you more well-rounded, you have a better understanding of the world.

Columbia Heights, D.C.: Is there a minimum physical condition EMS and fire personnel must be in to serve?

I have seen the occasional person who seems to be too out of shape to be reacting quickly physically, though I have no doubt they're perfectly capable otherwise.

I do however want to congratulate you: D.C. is in dire need of effective public servants, and we are well served in you.

Ronnie Few: Our firefighters have to take a physical every year, have to successfully pass that physical. We're currently looking at putting minimum performance standards in place. Thank you for your congratulations.

Bob Levey: Chief, please bring us up to date on the pregnancy controversy in your department. As I understand it, a female applicant must undergo a pregnancy test. If she's pregnant, she won't be offered a job until she isn't any more. But some supervisors have evidently told women already on the department that they'd need to have abortions if they wanted to keep their jobs. Is your department forcing women to have abortions?

Ronnie Few: We're currently looking into our pregnancy policy. We want to make sure that we never discriminate against women -- they're a big part of our department. We're looking into the allegations about the supervisor who allegedly told a woman to consider an abortion to keep her job -- that is definitely not the policy of the department.

Washington, DC: Has there been a recent increase in applications to join the DC fire department--or is this new attention only being reflected in the hopes of what children will be when they grow-up.

What are the minimal requirements for hire?

Ronnie Few: We haven't opened our hiring processes yet. But we're looking for an increase in the numbers of applicants. There's no definite date when we'll start hiring, but we know that this year we will be filling a number of firefighter and EMT positions, as well as support staff.

Bob Levey: Are pensions for the people in your department fully funded?

Ronnie Few: Yes, we have excellent pensions for our firefighters. I'd like to see that same pension plan on the EMS side.

Mt. Rainier MD: I know cross-training fire and EMT personnel is popular - it gives managers more maneuvering room with fewer personnel. But it makes no sense at all given the two jobs are radically different with totally different requirements in education and personality. The only thing they share is a noisy vehicle, and maybe a firehouse. Do you really want your heart-attack treated by a fireman?

Ronnie Few: Who wants a department that is one-dimensional? Doesn't it make sense that, if firefighters are usually the first people on the scene, that they be trained to help if the person is, say, having a heart attack? If I'm having a heart attack, I'd be very happy to have a firefighter help me, if he is also a trained EMT. The most successful fire/EMS services are those that are dual-role cross-trained, and the benefits are felt by the citizens, because they get a faster, better service.

Bob Levey: The firefighters' union has found lots of fault with some of your decisions. You've responded that you run the department, and the union doesn't. Is the relationship between you and the union as bitter as it sounds? Is it improving?

Ronnie Few: I've got three unions (firefighters, EMS, and communications), and I've got great relationships with two of them, and I'm working to make a great relationship with the third. I want to run the front-end of the department, and for many years they ran the front-end, because the chief officers didn't step up. So now I'm asking them to take a different role, and it's been a tough adjustment.

Bob Levey: Many thanks to Chief Ronnie Few for joining us today. Be sure to hop aboard next Tuesday when our guest on "Levey Live" will be Jim Bennett, the chief operating officer for National and Dulles Airports. That discussion will begin at noon Eastern time.

Bob Levey:

Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion.

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