OUC oversight roundtable hearing expected to focus on DC’s embattled 911 call center

WASHINGTON - Washington, D.C.’s embattled 911 call center is in the hot seat again and is expected to be the focus of an oversight roundtable hearing Tuesday. The hearing comes after several high-profile response issues including the death of a five-month-old and delays to advanced medical help when the baby's parents called for help. 

The head of the D.C. Council Judiciary Committee will be bringing in witnesses and officials to question what happened leading to some of these serious incidents and what’s being done to address them.

The Office of Unified Command, or OUC, is the agency that operates the city’s 911 call center. FOX 5 has been reporting on issues within this very important public safety agency for years. 

On the agenda for Monday’s oversight roundtable, the judiciary is planning to ask questions about staffing shortages, possible blown addresses, delays in emergency response arrival and technological failures.

Last week, OUC Deputy Director Heather McGaffin defended the agency. "911 in Washington, D.C. is not in crisis," McGaffin, told FOX 5. "It's an overtaxed system. We took 1.8 million calls. That far outpaces any other state in the nation per capita. And we are doing things, making improvements, to keep up with that pacing."

Judiciary Committee Chair Councilmember Brook Pinto recently introduced legislation trying to bring more transparency to the agency and said she’d be holding monthly oversight roundtables along with unannounced visits to the 911 call center. 

The discussion went on for hours and is just the first in a series of oversight hearings questioning issues and incidents within the Office of Unified Communications. 

Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who recently introduced the Transparency in Emergency Response Act of 2024, has been making biweekly unannounced visits to the call center. 

Last Saturday night, she said she found only one call taker for all EMS emergencies in the District of Columbia - well below the required minimum of six.  

"When I talk about the need to focus on staffing, it is not just a nice-to-have - it is an absolutely must-have focus for this agency," Pinto said to FOX 5's Homa Bash following the hearing. 

Pinto said they heard about improvements that have been made or are underway but will continue to push throughout the fall and into next year to ensure they are implemented.

"We hear from District residents about concerns when it comes to your safety, ensuring your 911 call center is fast, is accurate and is transparent, and I am going to work every day to make sure it lives up to that promise," Pinto added.

Last week, OUC director Heather McGaffin said the call center isn't in crisis but is overtaxed.

Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen said he disagrees.

"I think we have an agency that's been in crisis," Allen said. "I think that we have one that has not been able to acknowledge the failures and problems and the first step to fixing something is to acknowledge there's a problem and they rarely will even acknowledge that."

According to McGaffin, dispatch took in 1.8 million calls, which is the highest volume in the nation per capita.

To get workers in the door - OUC has been offering a $2500 hiring bonus.

In addition, they've also offered an $800 monthly bonus to employees who do not call out for shifts – 94 workers received that bonus in August.

Still - Allen said they haven't seen a difference yet - recounting a story of someone recently who saw a fire start and ran to a fire station rather than trusting 911 to respond.

"That's where people are and they've got to understand the urgency and lack of confidence people have in the 911 center right now," Allen said, adding that they need a cultural change in leadership and dogged oversight. "Hearing rosy assessments and 'it's just we're right around the bend, things are gonna get better' - we've been hearing that for years and it's not there yet."

In October, 31 new trainees will start at OUC, but there will still be 20 vacancies.

Pinto had concerns about those vacancies and raising the full-time staffing numbers above those levels. McGaffin said they calculate minimum staffing levels by using data from call volume, call length, call wrap-ups, and notes plus breaks.

"This is a really tough job, and it gets a lot of attention and maybe not always in a positive manner so the things that are happening shouldn't fall on the shoulders of the people who work there," McGaffin said.

"Really what we are working toward is that people will always get their calls answered without a queue, which is lofty, but we believe we can get there," said Deputy Mayor Lindsey Appiah.

The District has released a 22-point action plan aimed at tackling dispatch issues, including tech upgrades and staffing issues. These D.C. Council oversight hearings will continue monthly.