DC Dispatching Issues Continue Even With Scrutiny

We found two incidents in recent weeks where first responders were initially sent to a location that was about 4 miles from the correct place. It's further complicating matters that tech upgrades this week may have hurt dispatching, stakeholders said. "Due to Computer Assisted Dispatch upgrades, #DCsBravest have been unable to compile the daily run information for yesterday or today," tweeted DC Fire and EMS Wednesday. "We hope to have the issue fixed soon." It tweeted similarly Thursday. Local police said they aren't experiencing such issues. The fire department declined to answer questions.

Because some first responders think they can't rely on Washington's Office of Unified Communications to accurately send the right help to the right place when it's first needed, fire officials are verifying the address, we were told. We heard via openMHz.com one such incident on Oct. 16, resulting in about a six-minute delay sending firefighters to the right address more than 4 miles from the initially dispatched place, according to MapQuest. The call was for smoke from a washing machine. It was a fire commander, not a 911 dispatcher from the District of Columbia's OUC, who determined the right dwelling by speaking with the caller. (Listen at 4:25:26 p.m.) The initial dispatch was to 507 D St. SE, and the correct address was 5007 D St. SE.

Sunday, rescuers were sent to 2900 Southern Ave. SE for an unconscious person. About eight minutes later, help was sent to 5900 Southern Ave. SE, the correct place. The patient was later reported to be dead (listen at 7:13 a.m.). The head of the D.C. firefighters union said such problems are common. International Association of Fire Fighters Local 36 President Dabney Hudson said OUC makes significant errors frequently, perhaps daily. Union members "are almost numb to it because of the frequency. They are used to screw-ups," he said in an interview: "We understand they are not going to get it right 100% of the time," he said, but there are "myriad" issues.

The Office of the D.C. Auditor has "gotten proposals in response to our RFP for a comprehensive audit on the OUC 911 system," emailed a spokesperson about its request for proposals. "Our next step is to evaluate and select a partner." OUC "has made significant investments in training and technology that have established the 911 Call Center as a national model," emailed a representative for interim Deputy Mayor-Public Safety and Justice Roger Mitchell. "We welcome the forthcoming audit as an opportunity to identify any gaps and implement solutions that support our commitment to responding to callers quickly and professionally.”

The audit, which firefighters and others sought, may not find just one problem at OUC, Hudson said. "I don’t think to fix it, it’s going to be like the golden egg" of a single solution, he added. Solutions may involve adding staff and better training, the union rep said. OUC didn't reply to our queries. A rep for Judiciary and Public Safety Committee Chair Charles Allen (D) didn't comment.

Local 911 expert Dave Statter found by listening to radio communications that OUC's usual problems intensified in recent days. "After two days of various computer related struggles beginning early Monday, there was what sounded like a complete meltdown of the computers on Tuesday," he emailed. "Starting around 10 am, multiple dispatchers said over the radio that the computers weren't working. In addition, DC Fire & EMS units reported that their CAD tablets were not working. OUC lost track of a number of ambulances, dispatching some on calls even though they were still dealing with a patient from a previous call. There were also a number of instances where it took as long as 4 minutes to dispatch additional help requested by DC Fire & EMS."

Editor's note: This is part of an ongoing series of articles about D.C. 911 dispatching issues. To read previous top news stories on this, see here, here, here, here, here and here.