By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 12, 2006; B02

The District's top fire official last night defended his agency's handling of an emergency call involving a longtime journalist who was fatally beaten in a robbery near his home in Northwest Washington.

The reporter, David E. Rosenbaum, died two days later from his injuries, and his death was ruled a homicide. No arrests have been made.

In a statement issued last night, Chief Adrian H. Thompson of the D.C. Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services said that "our operational review indicates that appropriate measures were taken" and that rescuers "met all standards of care as outlined in our protocols."

Thompson's department has come under fire because an ambulance did not arrive for more than 20 minutes and because it took nearly 50 minutes after the 911 call for Rosenbaum to reach the hospital.

Emergency medical workers also did not realize that the journalist had been badly beaten. They thought he was intoxicated, several fire department sources have said.

The city's medical examiner later determined that Rosenbaum died from a severe head injury and blows to his body and limbs.

Thompson did not address specifics of how the six emergency medical technicians treated Rosenbaum, 63, a recently retired editor and reporter for the New York Times.

A fire department spokesman said Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) will receive a final report on the incident.

Rosenbaum, who had gone for an after-dinner walk, was found by a neighborhood resident about 9 p.m. in the 3800 block of Gramercy Street NW. He was lying on the sidewalk. Police and residents have said they thought Rosenbaum might have suffered from a medical problem, such as a stroke or seizure.

The 911 call received a fairly low priority because the caller indicated that Rosenbaum was conscious, the report said.

It took four firefighters -- who are also trained as emergency medical technicians -- less than five minutes to reach the scene and begin administering aid to Rosenbaum, the statement said.

"At no time did he present symptoms or detectable injuries that would cause first responders to request the addition of advanced life support resources," Thompson said in the statement.

An ambulance, which was dispatched at the same time as the firetruck, arrived in 23 minutes. The unit's emergency medical technicians took Rosenbaum to Howard University Hospital. He arrived there at 10:18 p.m., 48 minutes after the units were dispatched, Thompson said.

The technicians told emergency room personnel that they believed Rosenbaum was drunk, fire department sources have said. Fire officials have declined to comment on the assessments.

At the hospital, Rosenbaum was not examined for at least an hour and was left on a stretcher in a hallway, fire officials have said.

Hospital officials have not responded to questions about how they handled the incident, citing concerns with medical privacy laws.

Thompson's statement comes as police have scrambled to find those responsible for beating Rosenbaum and stealing his wallet.

Police sources said his credit cards were used at least four times in Maryland, Virginia and the District. The cards were used at gas stations and convenience stores, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the case is under investigation.

Detectives were visiting the gas stations and stores again last night in an attempt to recover video surveillance tapes, the sources said.

D.C. police also have been criticized for their response to the incident. They did not realize a crime had been committed until Saturday morning. Officers and detectives did not cordon off the area until 11:20 a.m. at the earliest, according to Teresa Rosenfeld, a friend of the Rosenbaum family and a criminal defense lawyer.

From about 8:30 to 10:15 a.m., Rosenfeld walked up and down the block, searching for Rosenbaum's missing wallet, she said. She said no police arrived until 11 a.m.

Police have said delays in their response will not hamper the investigation.