(1) A bizarre DC 911 dispatch Wednesday evening. The people in charge at @OUC_DC should be embarrassed by it. OUC sent a full box alarm for a boat fire that land units would have to travel 4 miles into Virginia to access. OUC didn't coordinate with VA jurisdictions. (more) 
(2) LISTEN: The location was the Potomac River at Four Mile Run. Question 1 is why @OUC_DC sent 5 engines & 2 trucks for a reported boat fire in the river? It wasn't at a marina. There are no structures nearby. That alone was a bit strange, But there's much worse. (more)
(3) This part of the Potomac belongs to DC. But access to the western shore, where Four Mile Run is located, can only be reached via water or Virginia roads. The first due from @dcfireems are Engine 13 & Truck 10 from Southwest. They're 5 miles from the reported boat fire. (more)
(4) Eight of @AlexandriaVAFD 10 engines are closer than Engine 13. The closest, just a mile away. Two Alexandria truck companies are also way closer than Truck 10. In addition, @ArlingtonVaFD Engine 105 & Truck 105 are closer than DC's first due units. (more)
(5) But the closest units, by far, are from MWAA Fire Station 301 at Reagan National Airport. Four Mile Run & the Potomac River meet at the south end of the airport. It's probably less than 2000 feet from the firehouse. (more)
(6) While responding to the call, DC's incident commander requested @AlexandriaVAFD's boat. It turned out there was no significant fire & the disabled boat was towed to shore. (more)
(7) Did anyone at @OUC_DC know enough about the area's geography to understand that when they dispatched that call, the closest @dcfireems engine was actually 11th due, or that DC had to travel 4 miles through Arlington County to get there? (more)
(8) This ridiculous dispatch can't be fully blamed on @OUC_DC. The region's very smart & competent fire chiefs need to get together & prevent this from happening again. The next time may be the real deal. (more)
(9) My friend & mentor Rich Adams lit a fire under the region's emergency managers with his TV editorials about serious coordination problems during the Air Florida crash at the 14th Street Bridge. Almost 40 years later & it's clear some of the same problems exist. (more)
(10) Figuring out the right thing to do to prevent this scenario from happening again is simple. If it's your loved ones needing help, do you want the closest fire & EMS units to be 2000 feet away or 5 miles? I think we all know the answer.
