From the Washington Times: D.C. firefighters are being dispatched on late-night patrols to high-crime areas as deterrents and during the day to provide payday protection for residents enrolled in the city’s youth-jobs program, raising safety concerns for the “unarmed” firefighters.

Lon Walls, spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said the firefighters are not expected to serve as policemen, “but sometimes a uniform presence can be a deterrent.”

However, police and fire union officials question why the mayor would send firefighters to some of the city’s worst corners and perhaps put their safety at risk. Read the entire article here.