District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
In June 2015, Jullette M. Saussy was named the medical director of DC Fire and EMS. On January 29, 2016, she announced her resignation from that position in a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser. In her letter, she called the department's culture "highly toxic to the delivery of any semblance of quality pre-hospital medical care."
History of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
In addition to the ambulance mechanical problems, DCFEMS began having trouble staffing its ambulances properly in 2012 as well. The firefighters' union accused Ellerbe of mismanaging the emergency services division (which includes both paramedics and EMTs), and said that 37 emergency medical staff quit between January 2011 and December 2012. In December 2012, during hearings on the issue, City Council member Mendelson said that DCFEMS could not accurately determine how many paramedics and EMTs it had on staff, as departmental figures provided various numbers between 225 and 250.