WASHINGTON 鈥� A fire department position within Metro, created after the deadly smoke incident near L鈥橢nfant Plaza in January, could end this spring if the region does not find new funding for it.
Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik says the two firefighters who have been working 40 hours a week, one from Fairfax County and one from Prince George鈥檚 County, only have the funding from Metro to continue work at the Rail Operations Control Center for a few more months.
鈥淲e fronted $250,000 to begin this effort, and at the burn rate or the rate at which it鈥檚 being expended is not going as fast as we鈥檇 like and it turned out we had the ability to send two officers over there 鈥� so [the positions are staffed] until that $250,000 runs out, which we forecast will be early spring,鈥� Pavlik says.
He and new Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld are scheduled to meet with representatives of the region鈥檚 fire departments on Jan. 21 to figure out where future money聽could come from.
Metro and local fire chiefs say the position has increased safety and improved response for incidents in the Metrorail system. They聽would like to see the position staffed 24/7, which would require even more money but provide improved guidance around the clock to ensure that the appropriate response is sent to each incident.
鈥淭his is great because …聽we put a radio in there where the fire department can talk live with the responding jurisdiction,鈥� Pavlik says.
The lack of communication between the Metro Rail Operations Control Center and D.C. Fire, including a delay in calling for a full response to the correct location, was cited as a significant issue in the smoke incident on the Yellow Line last January that led to Carol Glover鈥檚 death.
Separately, firefighters had problems communicating among themselves on radios. Metro has long-term plans to improve radio performance in the tunnels, but radios are now regularly tested in the system to ensure they would work in the event of an emergency.
Now, Pavlik says the firefighter in the Rail Operations Control Center can directly communicate with the appropriate department as soon as an issue arises.
鈥淭hrough CCTV that firefighter 鈥� and through his experience 鈥� relays to that fire battalion chief who鈥檚 responding to say 鈥榶es, we have smoke鈥� or 鈥榶es, we have an evacuation underway鈥� or 鈥榥o, actually it was just brake聽dust,鈥欌�� he explains.
Pavlik says it is a regional issue, since an appropriate response means fewer vehicles traveling with lights and sirens, and more first responders available for other calls instead of getting tied up where they are not needed. He suggested regional grants as one possible source of funding to keep the program going.
鈥淭hrough this real time, and through that partnership in the ROCC, we鈥檙e able to mitigate a lot of incidents and reduce the response time so that way you鈥檙e not putting so many first responders at risk — you know, four or five fire trucks responding to an incident when you only need one and it turns out to be break dust,鈥� Pavlik says.
The also would work the opposite way if more serious situations arise.
The final report on the from the National Transportation Safety Board is due by spring 2016. The Federal Transit Administration has to through a federal safety management inspection and the FTA鈥檚 for Metro.
That lead oversight authority is meant to only last until Maryland, Virginia and D.C. set up a long-promised Metro Safety Commission that would be more independent and have the enforcement authority the previous Tri-State Oversight Committee lacked.
