D.C. Fire Chief Has Doubts About Probe

They took him to Howard University Hospital, where he was left on a gurney near the emergency room for more than an hour. A doctor then evaluated Rosenbaum and realized he had a severe head injury and rushed him into surgery. It is not clear whether more prompt medical care could have saved Rosenbaum.

In a letter to D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), city officials said that emergency workers noticed "no externally visible gross signs of significant trauma" to Rosenbaum, despite at least four assessments by emergency workers. Police found only a small amount of blood on the sidewalk, authorities said.

The ambulance crew could have taken Rosenbaum to Sibley Memorial Hospital, which is much closer to Grammercy Street than Howard University Hospital. Fire officials said yesterday that they have been unable to learn why the ambulance crew took him to Howard.

In the end, the decision to take Rosenbuam to Howard probably didn't affect the reporter's care much, authorities have said.

Sibley does not have a trauma center capable of performing the surgery Rosenbaum needed. Another ambulance would have been required to take him from Sibley to another hospital. Such a transfer would have taken a substantial amount of time.

Fire officials did not identify the firefighters or ambulance crew members involved in the incident. But they said the employees have received "remedial" training in how to assess and treat patients and are back on the street.

In the days after Rosenbaum's death, fire officials said they revamped how they respond to such calls and how they deploy ambulances and crews to short-staffed areas of the city.

Thompson said yesterday that firefighters on engines and trucks soon will be required to fill out "run sheets" that describe the medical care they give. Only emergency medical workers and paramedics on ambulances are now required to fill out those forms. Thompson said the forms would help authorities better document what occurs during emergencies. Fire engines and trucks are dispatched on many medical calls in the city.