14 minutes ago... "6th and I SW I had child trapped on monkey bars - has been freed and transported."

This week I chronicled D.C. Fire Department arson investigator Greg Bowyer. Bowyer, along with his partner Gerald Pennington, went from working arson cases to checking fire hydrants. They allege their demotion wasn't for any performance reason. No. They got transferred because of their whistleblowing activities.

For more than two years, Bowyer and Pennington have waged a campaign to right a fire department that they allege has routinely bungled major fire cases like the Eastern Market fire and the Mount Pleasant fire, and put in place untrained and unqualified fire investigators. For their efforts, they got placed on hydrant duty.

I just posted a timeline of their activities. And it definitely appears that when they've talked to the press whether it's WJLA or Courtland Milloy, the departmental hammer has come down. For my cover, Fire Chief Dennis Rubin and Attorney General Peter Nickles refused to comment about the whistleblowers' claims.

But I wonder what will happen to them now? Is there a position in the fire department lower than hydrant checker? I hope my story didn't mess them up.

On Friday, Councilmembers Mary Cheh and Phil Mendelson sent a letter to CFO Dr. Natwar M. Gandhi seeking an accounting of "every travel expenditure incurred by the Executive Office of the Mayor and every subordinate agency during the months of December 2008, January 2009, and February 2009."

The reason: the fishy fire truck donation to the Dominican Republic.

The two councilmembers have also requested an "immediate" investigation by the Office of the Inspector General into the fire truck issue including the involvement of Peaceoholics Inc.'s Ron Moten. They note that the donation had been contemplated within dc.gov since June 2008. You can read their letter to the IG's office here.

The two also note that AG Peter Nickles is said to be investigating the matter. But they say Nickles had to be involved in the issue---i.e. he may have worked with Moten---and is tainted; the two contest that his investigation would at least appear to present a conflict of interest.

Read More "Cheh, Mendo Request Investigation Into Fire Truck Controversy" »

Last night, two firefighters---Greg Bowyer and Gerald Pennington---announced their plans to file a lawsuit against the fire department. We detailed their case roughly an hour ago on City Desk.

Since announcing his imminent lawsuit against the fire department, Bowyer says his day has gone pretty normal.

Read More "Firefighter Greg Bowyer’s Average Day" »

Last night, WJLA reported that a pair of D.C. Firefighters are readying a civil lawsuit aimed squarely at D.C. Fire Department Chief Dennis L. Rubin. This fight has been brewing for years. The firefighters are claiming that their own department has botched numerous fire investigations and that the upper brass retaliated against them when they complained within the department and to the media. The fight heated up soon after the Eastern Market fire which some investigators say was arson.

The fight over the Eastern Market fire did not sit well with Rubin apparently. I know first hand how Rubin handles tough inquiries into that case. But investigators persisted. They complained about how the Mount Pleasant fire was handled and so on. Meanwhile, Rubin was still Chief Rubin.

The inevitable happened. Two whistleblowers---D.C. Arson Investigators Greg Bowyer and Gerald Pennington---were transferred to something called the Community Services Unit and generally toyed with. Now Bowyer and Pennington are fighting back. They plan on filing a lawsuit this week. They have scheduled a press conference for tomorrow at noon at Eastern Market. Last night we reached Bowyer.

Read More "Firefighters: ‘We Know The Dark Figure Of Rubin’" »