The Arlington County Fire Department’s water rescue team did not respond to last week’s fatal midair collision, against the wishes of local firefighters, ARLnow has learned.
While first responders from throughout the D.C. area descended on the site of the devastating collision that killed 67 people on Jan. 29, ACFD personnel trained to respond to water emergencies did not receive permission to act. That is according to internal materials that this news site obtained through an anonymous source.
IAFF Local 2800, the union representing ACFD, confirmed with ARLnow that water rescue personnel were prepared to deploy, but “their deployment was denied twice by the Arlington County Fire Department chain of command.”
This has led to eruptions of outrage and confusion among the rank and file.
“Two times through the chain of command, I had requested for us to be properly added on … through our leadership, so we could go and support our brothers and sisters out there at this terrible event,” one firefighter said recently, during a tense video conference with the chief and fire personnel. “And two times I was told to stand down, to stand by.”
“The thing that I do not sleep well over [is], we had resources,” the ACFD member continued in the recording reviewed by ARLnow. “We had people.”
An ACFD water rescue team is based at Fire Station 5 near Pentagon City, a short distance from the airport. That team has a boat equipped for water rescues in the Potomac.
Who specifically was responsible for the decision not to deploy the ACFD water rescue squad to the crash site, even as 22 other members of the fire department were dispatched to the airport, remains somewhat unclear.
ACFD spokesperson Capt. Jamie Jill told ARLnow that “the department’s Water Rescue Team was not requested for this incident.”
“The Incident Commander overseeing the scene makes additional resource requests,” Jill said. “Arlington County was not the lead jurisdiction for this response. We stood in support of the lead agency and responded to dispatch requests from them, as is standard protocol.”
During the video conference, the chief and rank-and-file members largely agreed on the need for Arlington units to be dispatched to a scene rather than unilaterally “self dispatching” — but members suggested that ACFD leadership should have pushed for Arlington’s water rescue resources to be requested.
At 8:52 p.m. on Jan. 29, minutes after the crash, a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority battalion chief requested boats from Fairfax County and Prince George’s County, according to dispatch archives. Shortly after that, Alexandria’s river-based Fire Boat 201 requested to be added to the response on an MWAA fire channel.
Water rescue teams from other nearby jurisdictions, including Prince William County, were also at the scene.
Arlington’s fire and medic units, but not boats, were dispatched along with units from other fire departments at 9 p.m. as the incident was upgraded to a mass casualty alarm.
A joint information center for inquiries on the crash did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Regardless of how the decision came about, many firefighters have raised significant complaints with embattled Fire Chief David Povlitz — some even raising the possibility of quitting the understaffed agency in protest.
“I’m speaking on behalf of many, if for no other reason than I’m willing to say the hard part out loud,” one ACFD member told the chief. “I have heard the words ’embarrassed,’ ‘disappointed,’ ‘disgusted,’ ‘tired of it’ — and other words, which you all know I’m willing to say, but won’t use right now.”
The member condemned “gutless leadership,” pointing out that ACFD’s water rescue team carried out a high-stakes rescue in Southwest Virginia after Hurricane Helene this past fall, “but we didn’t go on an incident in our own backyard.”
Povlitz, for his part, has expressed empathy for his department’s frustrations but left some open questions.
“You put a lot out there,” he said in response to concerns. “We still have a lot of things to look at, and we’ll definitely like to have this conversation further, and in terms of the water rescue team — well, I mean, we’ll talk about it. I’m not going to jump down through the layers in terms of team leadership and team oversight, but a lot of things you brought up, we can address, we can cover and we can certainly make better.”
Povlitz underscored his respect for the water rescue team — and for all firefighters who responded the night of the crash.
“I hear everyone. I hear the concerns, I hear the frustrations, and I know everyone wants to do the work and try to make a difference on all our calls, all the time,” he said.
County Board Chair Takis Karantonis, who along with other members of the Board has supported Povlitz through ongoing disputes with the fire union, provided the following statement to ARLnow.
The Arlington County Board is deeply grateful to the first responders, and other county employees, who supported the operations in response to last week’s DCA incident. We are all still processing this national tragedy, and our hearts, prayers, and thoughts are with those grieving over the loss of their loved ones. We remain committed to providing support any way we can.
Arlington responded promptly, alongside its regional partners, to this incident. We want to be clear that while this tragedy occurred over the Potomac River the incident occurred in the jurisdiction of our partners in DC. While we stood ready shortly after the incident, our water rescue team was not requested, and we instead supported the response in other critical roles.
The focus right now should be on supporting those who need it most and coming together to heal.
