Prince George’s County Fire Department argues fire response time was ‘effective,’ ‘adequate’
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — The Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department responded to allegations that its response to a call on London Lane in Bowie on Friday was delayed, saying its response was “effective” and “adequate.”
A house fire broke out at around 9 p.m. on Friday in the 14600 block of London Lane. Upon arrival, Engine 816 discovered a basement fire in the home and reports of people still inside. They were able to extinguish the fire without injury.
The Prince George’s County Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics Association released a statement on Saturday that said engine company closures – due to high call volumes taxing resources – delayed response times and led firefighters to operate alone at the scene.
“Because of the two other Bowie engines being out of service, Fire Fighters were forced to operate alone for an extended period of time, waiting for additional resources to arrive,” the statement read in part. “Thankfully our firefighters were able to extinguish the fire without injury or loss of life for themselves or the residents.”
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The fire highlighted a “disturbing trend” of increased call volume without adequate investment into the safe staffing of the fire/EMS system, the statement continued.
“As the 16th busiest fire department in the nation, Prince George’s County must provide enough Fire Fighters to account for the significant call volume increase so our Fire Fighters are never left alone,” the statement read.
The organization ended its statement by saying that the county must hire 232 firefighters to fix its problem.
The Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department responded to these allegations on Monday, stating that the first unit was dispatched to the incident at 9:07 p.m. and arrived with a paramedic ambulance at 9:12 p.m., “demonstrating adequate response time.”
Additional units arrived at 9:16 p.m. and, at 9:17 p.m., Engine 816 – the first responding unit – radioed that the fire was extinguished.
“The Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department demonstrated exceptional resilience and adaptability in responding to an extraordinary surge in emergency incidents on Friday, January 26, 2024,” the statement read. “The department handled 618 incidents, marking a 33% increase compared to the daily average of 464 incidents. This surge necessitated 1,174 unit responses, reflecting a 45% increase in unit deployment.”
The department acknowledged concerns about staffing shortages but said that units effectively responded to the unusually high service demand.
“We are not alone in our hiring challenges, just as all other regional fire departments are struggling to hire enough personnel. We are aggressively recruiting, with a hiring announcement that has been open since last May. We hired 38 new firefighters in November, and we will hire another 52 firefighters in May, totaling 90 new firefighters in this fiscal year,” Fire Chief Green said in the press release.
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