On October 2, in an open letter to Prince George’s County Fire Department (PGFD) Chief Tiffany Green, Greenbelt City Council expressed their concern over fire department and EMS response times, prioritization and communication with Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department.
Alan Doubleday attended the recent townhall on September 12, to represent PGFD (see the September 19 issue). However, members of city staff and council were disappointed with the outcome of the meeting, stating they gained little insight, and the PGFD representative did not provide any of the commitments that were requested.
In their October 2 letter the city expressed its concern over the fact that promised periodic updates have not been provided and that the city has not received a response to a letter dated August 30. More concerning, they say, is that evidence points to the possibility that the PGFD may not be properly tracking calls by their priority level or meeting the standards of coverage to which PGFD has committed.
In the letter, the city also questioned the accuracy of PGFD reporting and states that its trust and confidence in the department’s temporary staffing plan and information sharing has been eroded. PGFD’s response times are not meeting community standards for safety and well-being, they say, and they concluded that the temporary summer staffing plan is inadequate and that PGFD should return the career firefighters to Greenbelt Fire station immediately.
The entire letter can be read at greenbeltmd.gov and on page12.
The city cited three incidents reported by residents as cause for serious concern. For each incident the city’s reported response time is followed by what PGFD reports as their response time for each vehicle dispatched.
- September 18, 2024: “A medical emergency occurred on Gardenway, where the response time appears to have exceeded the eight-minute standard. Tragically, the gentleman experiencing anaphylactic shock did not survive,” said the city, in their letter.
PGFD’s Response: Paramedic Ambulance 858 was dispatched at 4:09 p.m. and arrived on scene at 4:13 p.m., a response time of four minutes. In addition, Paramedic Engine 848 was dispatched at 4:09 p.m. and arrived on scene at 4:16 p.m., a response time of seven minutes.
The Greenbelt News Review has independently verified that a resident placed the 911 call at 4:06 p.m. and that call lasted eight minutes. According to the resident, the responder hung up as soon as the ambulance arrived, making the arrival time 4:14 p.m. by their cellphone call and the time from 911 call to arrival eight minutes.
- September 1, 2024: “A 3-year-old child was struck by a vehicle on Ridge Road, with response times exceeding 13 minutes for this critical emergency,” stated the city.
PGFD’s Response: Medic Unit 812 was dispatched at 9:18 p.m. and was on scene at 9:27 p.m., a response time of nine minutes. In addition, Truck 814 was dispatched at 9:18 p.m. and arrived on scene at 9:23 p.m., a response time of five minutes.
- September 23, 2024: “A fire alarm was triggered at Green Ridge House, our city’s senior housing complex, and PGFD classified the call as nonpriority, resulting in a delayed response time of 23 minutes,” said the city.
PGFD’s Response: Engine 828 was dispatched at 10:26:52 a.m. and on scene at 10:41:27 a.m., a response time of 14 minutes. A formal investigation has been initiated into the Green Ridge House response and two firefighters have been suspended pending the outcome, reported Doubleday.
See the September 26 and October 3 issues of the News Review for our coverage of the fire alarm response.
PGFD Responds to Letter
Doubleday told the News Review that PGFD is drafting a response letter. “The Fire/EMS Department has formally communicated with the City of Greenbelt no less than 18 times since June 4, 2024,” he said. “Other than one response time delay that was attributed to personnel violating department policy, the Fire/EMS Department has maintained an average response time of less than eight minutes in this area since June 30, 2024,” he said, but he did not respond to how the eight-minute average was calculated – seemingly the average of all response times.