My father died waiting for an ambulance — now the DC Fire Department is charging my family $780 for an ambulance from another state that came too late. I want them to cancel the bill.

Sign My Petition change.org

This past New Year‘s Eve was one of the worst nights of my life. That’s the night my father died waiting for an ambulance that never came.

Around 1am, my father was having trouble breathing, so I called 911. The nearest fire station is just one mile from our house in DC, at most a 5 minute drive. Firefighters arrived in just ten minutes, but no ambulance. I watched my father struggle to stay alive as we waited for Emergency Medical Services. And waited. And waited.

The ambulance that finally came 40 minutes later wasn’t even from DC — it had to come from another state entirely. By the time it arrived, my father was already dead.

Despite this, the DC Fire Department is charging my family $780 for an ambulance it never sent. I started a petition on Change.org demanding they waive the fee — will you click here to sign?

So why did my father die waiting for an ambulance when there’s a fire station just a mile from our house? It turns out that on New Year’s Eve, nearly one third of DC’s firefighters called in sick, meaning ambulances sat empty in fire stations.

Long response times are a huge problem for ambulances, firefighters and police in cities all over America. The DC fire department needs to see that it can’t just let my father die and then take my family’s money.

My father was only 72 years old, a retired Air Force Veteran. He did not have to die on New Year’s night. And my family certainly shouldn’t be charged money for the reason he did.

Click here to sign my petition demanding that the DC Fire Department waive a $780 fee for an ambulance that never came to save my father.

Thank you,

Durand Ford, Jr. Washington, DC

PS: If you’ve ever had to wait too long for an ambulance or other emergency services, tell us your story in the “Reasons for signing” comment section on the petition.