After two demotions DC firefighter becomes firefighter of the year
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On Friday, I emceed the DC Fire & EMS Department awards ceremony at the beautiful National Building Museum. It was a great honor. The invitation from Interim Chief Eugene Jones, through my old friend Walter Gold, was a big surprise. Especially since I was sitting on stage with a couple of people I’ve criticized pretty harshly via STATter911.com.
But the story of the day wasn’t that Dave Statter finally gets invited to host DC’s awards. The most interesting story is the one WTTG-TV/FOX 5 reporter Paul Wagner reported yesterday (Monday) and I thought the local news media was going to completely miss. I’m talking about the Gold Meritorious Service Award presented by Mayor Vincent Gray to Firefighter Robert Alvarado. In addition, Firefighter Alvarado was named 2014 Firefighter of the Year.
Regular readers of STATter911.com may recognize the name Robert Alvarado, AKA “Cadillac”. We first told you about “Cadillac” in 2011 when he was one of five firefighters burned in a Northeast house fire. Alvarado was a lieutenant back then.
Beginning in 2012, Chief Kenneth Ellerbe investigated, disciplined and demoted Alvarado two times because the lieutenant very publicly spoke out against the policies instituted by Ellerbe. It was as if Chief Ellerbe thought “Cadillac” was the devil and it was the chief’s job to exorcise this demon from the department.
Here are some of the stories featuring Robert Alvarado during the administration of Kenneth Ellerbe:
Alvarado is spokesman for walkout by firefighters during speech by Chief Ellerbe
Alvarado questions Chief Ellerbe’s leadership
Alvarado asks Chief Ellerbe to treat firefighters fairly
There’s no doubt that Alvarado put a big target on his back by taking on the chief. And I am not going defend everything he did, though it sure took some guts to stand up to the chief with TV cameras rolling. Especially knowing there would likely be a big price to pay.
But there is also no doubt that what Robert Alvarado was saying about Kenneth Ellerbe was extremely accurate. All you have to do is look at the shambles this department was in when Ellerbe finally departed the scene this past summer.
So, how did Robert Alvarado end up going from being a twice demoted outcast to firefighter of the year? First of all, “Cadillac” earned it with his actions on the fireground. Check out the details in Paul’s news report. But we know under Kenneth Ellerbe recognizing such heroism wasn’t a priority (there weren’t any awards ceremonies like this one during Ellerbe’s regime).
From my view on the outside the biggest change is Chief Ellerbe’s replacement, Interim Chief Eugene Jones. It has become very evident over the last few months that Chief Jones has made it his mission to try to restore confidence in the department, both externally, with the public, and internally, with the people who work for the DC Fire and EMS Department.
It really is a remarkable change in attitude that hasn’t gone unnoticed by many of the firefighters I chatted with at Friday’s event. Winning them over is never an easy task for a chief who comes in from the outside. Chief Jones spent his career in the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department where he retired as chief. But Chief Jones had a little help.
Remember, these firefighters dealt with more than three years of downright abusive leadership that had its priorities completely backwards. The firefighters in DC are more than ready for a chief who knows that apparatus and staffing are more important than logos, who cheers them on rather than tears them down and who believes they aren’t the devil, but are instead among the department’s most important assets.
