D.C. Inspector General Investigating Emergency Services

Mayor Gray awaits report on D.C. ambulance response time

The D.C. inspector general launched an investigation into the city's emergency services.

Several incidents in recent months where ambulances were slow to respond to 911 calls prompted growing demands for answers. Three D.C. Fire and EMS ambulances that were supposed to be on duty the night an injured police officer was waiting for help were improperly out of service and did not respond to the calls, according to another investigation into the incident that is expected to be made public Thursday.

Mayor Vincent Gray repeatedly deflected questions about ambulance response times Wednesday, saying he will wait to see the report.

Delayed ambulance response times aren't the only problems facing the fire chief. Whether the department has enough ambulances and fire trucks has also become an issue after the chief admitted he gave bad information to the D.C. Council when he submitted a recent inventory report. That report listed many ambulances and fire trucks as being in working order when in fact they weren't. Some had been sold; others were out of service for extended periods.

The problems facing the department aren't the fault of rank and file, the head of the firefighters union told News4.

Follow Mark Segraves on Twitter at @SegravesNBC4

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