Rescuers, 911 Spat Goes Public as Firefighters Union Weighs In on Accuracy

First responder concerns about accuracy of emergency dispatching in the nation's capital took another turn in the early hours of Wednesday. Fire-rescue personnel lectured 911 staff during questioning about where on Southern Avenue in the Southeast quadrant Washington's Fire and EMS Department should respond for someone with chest pains. Later in the day, the firefighter's union weighed in on overall 911 dispatching accuracy concerns.

The Office of D.C. Auditor meanwhile expects to release its FY 2021 work plan in a few weeks, a spokesperson said Wednesday. The office has said that it could add an OUC audit to that plan, something that experts and local officials want. The head of the 911 center welcomes any such review; see our report here.

D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner 4C Jonah Goodman wants to “move forward quickly on a 911/311 audit to restore residents confidence in our emergency systems,” he tweeted. He's at least the third such neighborhood official to mention being concerned about 911.

At around 2:43 a.m., the District of Columbia Office of Unified Communications dispatched FEMS to one location. About six minutes later, FEMS asked OUC to broadcast the change to a different building about eight blocks away because that information was sent electronically but not over the walkie-talkie public safety radio. Fire-rescue personnel told 911 staff to make sure to air such information in the future, according to radio traffic from OpenMHz.

"There was no verbal verification of that” before a fire truck arrived at the incorrect place, a firefighter told a dispatcher. "Somebody changed the address on the computer and didn’t say anything. Don’t put this on me.” He said he would contact a supervisor. About 13 minutes after the initial dispatch, FEMS asked OUC for the correct address because the second location didn't appear to exist. At around 3:30 a.m., OUC dispatched FEMS to a third place on the same street, again for someone with chest pains. FEMS declined to comment, referring us to OUC. That agency didn't comment now.

The D.C. Firefighters Association formally backed requests for an OUC audit. Its head had shared similar concerns with us.

"Community concern continues to increase as several significant and unacceptable incidents have surfaced in recent months," the firefighters group said in a statement. "Repeated errors" have put the public and members of the union's local chapter "at risk," the organization added. Local 36 President Dabney Hudson said when "seconds count we don't have minutes to address an error." He noted the group has long advocated for "accountability" at OUC.

The 911 center has come under scrutiny for other apparent errors; it's unknown how many incidents are the fault of its staff versus people calling for help but reporting incorrect details. For instance, in one incident we reviewed from a few days ago where rescuers went to the wrong address for someone who died, the 911 caller had given the wrong location, OUC told us.

Editor's note: This is part of a continuing series of articles about 911 dispatching problems in the District. For our past news stories on D.C. 911 problems, see here and here.