Five Washington D.C. firefighters all heard that a man had fallen across the street from their firehouse and was in need of medical help, but none went to his aid, an internal report released Friday concludes, according to the Associated Press.
The report recommends that all five firefighters, ranging from a probationary firefighter to a lieutenant, face disciplinary action along with four dispatchers who further botched the city's response by sending an ambulance to the wrong part of the city, the AP reported.
The man, Medric Cecil Mills Jr., 77, a 47-year employee of the city's parks department, later died at a hospital from a heart-attack related issues, according to the AP.
The lieutenant announced her retirement days after the incident, the AP reported.
The new report largely confirms a troubling account by Mills' daughter, who said her father collapsed as they left a computer store January 25, according to the AP. Mills said passersby shouted and went to Engine House 26 seeking help, but that no one responded.
The report detailed miscommunication and an apparent disregard by those at the station, the AP reported.
According to the report, word first arrived at the firehouse when a resident came to the station's front door, according to the AP. The probationary officer said the person said he witnessed a man near the liquor store across the street slip on ice.
The firefighters called the station lieutenant on a public address system, asking her to come to the watch desk. He then opened the apparatus doors, only to discover a car in the driveway, with the driver stating that "there's a man across the street that needs help," the AP reported.
The firefighter made a second call on the public address system, asking the lieutenant and stating it was urgent, the report said, according to the AP.
The lieutenant later told investigators that she asked the firefighter for an exact address and that he did not return with one, the AP reported. The firefighter said he returned to the kitchen, told his fellow firefighters that he had informed the lieutenant, and then gathered study books from his car and went to the bunk room.
The report said it was undetermined whether the lieutenant failed to respond to the public address system calls because the speakers had been turned off, but said "under no circumstances should the PA speakers (have) been turned off or disabled prior to 10:00 p.m.," according to the AP.
The fire department's response was further delayed because of confusion over a 911 call, the report said, the AP reported. A call-taker initially dispatched the ambulance to the wrong quadrant of the city, quickly correcting the mistake when checking it with the caller.
The report recommended that all five firefighters and four dispatchers face discipline, but did not identify them or specify the punishment, which could range from reprimands to dismissal, the AP reported. The city said it was taking a number of steps to prevent another incident.
