Capital supports fire chief

Web posted September 29, 2000

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By Heidi Coryell
Staff Writer

WASHINGTON - Washington officials are making one thing clear about their possible future fire chief: They're more concerned about what he can do for them than what some accuse him of doing in Augusta.

In the nation's capital, Ronnie Few's supporters seem to far outnumber his detractors. And his take on the alleged scandals simmering back in Augusta has been to leave it all behind, a mentality many Washington bigwigs agree with.

``The kind of conversations and chatter going on in Augusta, are they parallel to what's going on here? No,'' said Lydia Sermons, communications director for Mayor Anthony Williams. ``Are they concerned about the integrity of their elected officials? Yes.''

The mayor's office has not been flooded with phone calls complaining about their acting fire chief, as is typically the case when constituents are concerned, she said.

Chief Few also has noticed a difference in perceptions.

``I don't think the public really cares up here,'' he said.

OTHER STORIES: • Fire chief nears OK for Washington job • Chief answers questions • Capital supports fire chief • Few addresses allegations • Augustans back Few in capital • Agents confiscate fire records • Fire official resigns from department • Few pays $642 bill for calls • Officials' phone bills top $1,000 • Mayor is unsettled by debts • Chiefs group covers late bill • Chiefs' bill goes unpaid • Ex-fire chief bids farewell to Augusta • Group hits media for Few squabble • Fire chief reports to grand jury • Few faces final vote by D.C. council • Few accepts D.C. job

A judiciary panel hearing held Wednesday to review Chief Few's qualifications and goals for the department focused - in part - on ongoing investigations in Augusta, where he served as fire chief from 1997 until July.

His answers at the hearing seemed to satisfy a chamber full of District of Columbia firefighters and city officials.

``I see where a lot of these allegations have been made, and see where there is no other attribution or explanation,'' Washington Councilman Vincent Orange said. ``Just last week there was a raid of his office ... no indictments - it was really just a high-profile event of seizing records.''

Mr. Orange, an attorney, said he will look at the outcome of a seizure of records at Chief Few's former department last week by Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents, but until something concrete turns up, the chief is innocent.

``I have been involved in seizures of evidence, and it turns out to be nothing but that someone has an ax to grind with the individual,'' he said.

Firefighters in the nation's capital say they - in the same way as many council members and the mayor - are convinced of their chief's ability to run the department.

He already is being credited with increasing the presence of paramedics on city fire engines, and his philosophies on training and equal treatment of employees have won their favor.

And they want him to be able to get on with the business of running their department.

``This department will become a unified service delivery department with the confirmation of Acting Chief Ronnie Few,'' said Albert Rowell, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3721 of the District of Columbia fire and EMS department.

Opponents of Chief Few's appointment, however, have latched onto the investigations of fire department records. They say Chief Few is neither qualified nor reputable enough to take the helm of the district's Department of Fire and Ambulance Services.

D.C. Watch, a Washington watchdog group, has said questions about the chief's past in Augusta, coupled with his lack of experience heading up a large metropolitan department, make him a poor candidate for the job.

Washington's fire department has nearly 1,500 more employees than that of Augusta-Richmond County and a budget that is more than $90 million larger.

D.C. Watch also says he is playing the ``race card'' by attributing his troubles in the South to prejudice and bad politics.

"They attribute all of Few's problems to the fact that he is a black man and he lives in a racist society,'' said Dorothy Brizill, head of the group.``This bodes very badly for D.C.''

Reach Heidi Coryell at (706) 823-3215.

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