“Nobody should worry that 911 might not answer our call”
REMARKS
Councilmember Nadeau gave opening remarks at a hearing on the Office of Unified Communications, which handles District residents’ emergency 911 calls. Here are excerpts from her remarks on Oct. 5:
I share the sentiment of my colleagues and the frustration of District residents around the agency’s operations and lack of transparency. The Office of Unified Communications has been beleaguered for a long time now and very little has changed.
When District residents need help in life-threatening situations, it’s not clear they will get the help they need. We’ve heard stories of dispatchers sending 911 help to the wrong address. We’ve heard stories of callers sending basic non-threatening life support services to people who are in life-threatening situations—and sometimes—it’s too late. We’ve heard stories of people being put on hold for up to 5 minutes in emergent situations.
This is simply unacceptable. The Mayor cannot continue to downplay the botched response to these stories. People’s lives are on the line.
I think about this issue not only as a Councilmember, but as a mom of a child with life-threatening food allergies. One of the scarier sides of being a parent is thinking about worst-case scenarios and being prepared to jump into action. If I can’t know with certainty that I can get help for my baby when I call 911, in a situation when every second counts, then our government has failed.
It's clear the agency lacks fundamental, structural competency to run effectively. It’s no surprise why issues surrounding transparency, accountability, and oversight plague the agency. Today I have questions for the Director on the operations of the agency and how she plans to fix these fixable problems.
I look forward to hearing from the public witnesses.