Council Grills D.C. Fire Chief

"I really don't know how to look at these numbers without seeing race as a factor," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the committee.

According to statistics provided by Rubin, African Americans were the subjects of 80 percent of the department's discipline cases in fiscal 2007. Whites composed 15 percent, and Hispanic personnel 4 percent. The numbers were similar in the two previous fiscal years.

Yesterday's hearing was a continuation of an oversight hearing two weeks earlier, during which several current and former members of the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services testified that stiffer penalties were levied against minorities in the department.

Nathan R. Queen of the Progressive Fire Fighters Association, which represents black firefighters, said many firefighters have come to his organization with concerns about inequities in hiring and discipline.

Rubin said the numbers raised concerns for him, but he firmly denied any racial profiling in the department. He said that since he became fire chief in April, he has made great effort to promote blacks.

"I agree [the discipline rate is] alarmingly high, but I cannot characterize it as disparaging treatment," Rubin told council members.

Mendelson also asked about perennial problems in the department with back pay, ballooning overtime costs and complaints about the medical clinic for police and firefighters.