A string of actions within a single week by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue staff members are under review by the agency.
On July 18, MCFRS apologized after a “water discharge” from a Silver Spring fire station soaked a nearby community baseball field, forcing the cancellation of a game.
In a social media post the day before, the Silver Spring-Takoma Park Thunderbolts baseball team said “gallons of water were sprayed over the fence from the fire department after a ball hit a pickup truck parked by the station.”
On Saturday, July 19, a firetruck had to be towed from floodwaters in Silver Spring after being driven into the flooded roadway.
On Monday, July 21, the MCFRS posted that it was launching an investigation into an “inappropriate comment” made on a Montgomery County Police Department social media post. The statement from the department said the employee was “in non-operational status” while the case is under review.
All three of the incidents are under review, said Assistant Fire Chief David Pazos, who added that the department is looking at the cases “very, very seriously. They’re all still under review. They’re all still in the early stages of collecting information.”
Regarding the incident that forced the cancellation of the Thunderbolts’ baseball game, Pazos said, “We acknowledge that the Station 16 incident offended many people and diminished the relationship between several of our partners … but we have to move on.”
During his weekly briefing with reporters, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich was asked about the incidents and whether it indicated that there’s an issue within the MCFRS.
“These aren’t the only times we’ve had personnel issues inside the fire department, or any department, to be blunt,” he said. “It’s the nature of every workplace in the country, probably, that not everybody does everything exactly the way they should.”
Earl Stoddard, the assistant chief administrative officer for Montgomery County, told WTOP, “By and large, our firefighters, both career and volunteer, do an exceptional job in Montgomery County.”
Stoddard added that there’s “frustration” by members of the department that the negative incidents reflect on them.
Responding to Stoddard’s comment, Pazos said, “I echo that. The majority of our workers in Montgomery County Fire and Rescue are delivering an excellent service and they’re providing excellent care to the residents of Montgomery County.”
In reference to the inappropriate comment reportedly posted by a MCFRS member, Elrich told WTOP, “I know what the language was, and it was absolutely inappropriate.”
The incidents “are not being ignored, and I can guarantee you that (MCFRS Fire Chief Corey) Smedley takes this stuff very seriously, and there will be consequences,” he added.
As to the incident involving the damage to the fire engine driven into floodwaters, Pazos said it’s not clear whether it’s a total loss — it’s still being looked at. Estimates on the cost of the fire engine are $500,000.
Stoddard said it is not in fire and rescue protocol to drive in flooded waters.
“We train people to follow the direction as we provide it to residents and not drive through floodwaters,” he said.
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