The following is an op-ed piece from White Marsh Cowenton Community Association president Heather Patti

In 2021 FACETS Consulting, LLP was retained by Baltimore County through a competitive procurement process to conduct an independent, third-party evaluation of the Baltimore County Fire Department. The study’s scope was to focus on the department’s overall management and administrative functions. The Final Report was provided to Baltimore County on December 16, 2022 and included glaring inadequacies which I will outline below and were taken directly from the report.

FACETS determined that:

• The Baltimore County Fire Department lacks sufficient EMS response capacity to address the current and projected service demands, leading to reduced operational effectiveness and an overwhelmed EMS workforce.
• EMS program management is understaffed, and the department’s command staff is under-resourced to effectively accomplish it’s full range of executive duties.
• While the (29) independent volunteer fire companies are integral to the county fire department’s current fire-EMS service delivery model, the independent report found that the system needs significant additional support from Baltimore County.
• The Fire-Rescue Academy is unable to meet the demands of the career/volunteer workforce.
• Additional resources and capital are needed for the department to maintain the current fleet, organizational delivery model of services, as well as workforce health and safety needs.
• A need for diversity, equity and inclusion was also identified, as well as limited resources for community risk reduction.

Since being appointed, Chief Rund has focused on creating a culture of inclusiveness rather than addressing ANY of the operational issues; issues that put the citizens of Baltimore County (and the EMS/firefighters) safety in jeopardy. Under her “leadership,” the following has been permitted to occur, according to Fire Department Union Leaders –

• A lack of respect, trust, and consistency between Chief Officers and members.
• Discipline is shown to be inconsistent and sometimes even personal towards members.
• There was a disturbing increase in the number of Notices of Investigation, discipline, and charges issued after the announcement of a fixed matrix that would dictate disciplinary action based on the offense.
• Chief Officers caught lying in discipline hearings and falsifying documents.
• Unsafe orders and tactical decisions have been observed being made on fire grounds by Chief Officers that have led to increased property damage and near-misses to our personnel.

In response to recent news coverage of the Fire Department Union’s vote of no confidence in Chief Rund and her administration,

County Executive Johnny Olszewski provided the following statement: “Chief Rund continues to lead critical efforts to strengthen and modernize the Baltimore County Fire Department. We value our partnerships with our dedicated partners in labor, take their concerns seriously, and will explore additional opportunities to improve operations and further support the brave the men and women who keep the residents of Baltimore County safe.”

This, after White Marsh Volunteer Fire Company has been denied their request for an additional medic unit (at least two times) by Chief Rund. In 2021, White Marsh ran over 2200 medic calls, and in 2022 they ran over 2500 medic calls. This might be possible if the entire system wasn’t broken, but with ER medic to RN report wait times at Franklin Square as long as 45 minutes (meaning the medic waits with the patient for 45 minutes to transfer care to the ER nurse), it’s unsafe to run 2500+ calls with only one medic.
As a community leader, registered nurse of over 22 years, and a woman who’s held management positions on a regional level for a decade, I lost faith in Chief Rund long ago. I’m also left to question the leadership of our County Executive if he honestly believes that Chief Rund is effective in her position. It’s exciting to see women appointed to positions of leadership, especially when they are well qualified and deserving of the appointment. However, it’s equally disappointing when the wrong candidates are chosen and then make a mockery of the position. This makes the rest of us women look incapable, and it makes it harder for us to achieve what we rightly deserve.

Heather Patti
President
White Marsh Cowenton Community Association