WASHINGTON D.C., DC — There were swift and loud calls for transparency and accountability from the city's long-troubled 911 center following the August 14 disaster at District Dogs. We are told lessons were learned and changes made, but mistakes at the Office of Unified Communication (OUC) continue to be a problem.
The former District Dogs location at 680 Rhode Island Avenue, NE has been closed since the deadly flood. Brown paper now covers the windows. But the site is still a sad reminder of what went wrong a year ago.
At 4:33 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2023, the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency tweeted out a message that warned drivers to avoid Rhode Island Avenue, which was known for its heavy flooding. However, according to the Computer Aided Dispatch report by OUC, by 5 p.m., firefighters were rescuing folks trapped in their cars. Fire crews even set up a command center at Mt. Calvery Holy Church at 610 Rhode Island Ave, NE - never knowing that right across the street, deadly flood waters had already started pouring into District Dogs.
WUSA9 obtained audio recordings from the Aug. 14, 2023 dispatch where a man is heard saying, "Public assistance at the District Dogs on 680 Rhode Island Avenue, Northeast for a water leak.”
Even though, according to the CAD report, that OUC supervisor knew people and dogs were trapped and coded the call as "flood-public assistance,” when he uttered the words "water leak" it triggered a low-priority response. That led to a nearly 15-minute delay that proved to be deadly for 10 dogs trapped inside their kennels at District Dogs. Surveillance images showed those kennels were submerged in flood waters.
A week later, the director of the Office of Unified Communication said the agency was making changes because of what she described as an unprecedented incident.
"There were things that we could have done differently,” Heather McGaffin told reporters. “There was no policy of protocol at that time for those people to do the things we're talking about now.”
She walked away from the podium as reporters began questioning her.
WUSA9 has made several attempts to interview Director McGaffin about what changes were made a year later. We are still waiting for a response.
While OUC has struggled to overcome issues with its computer system and staffing levels, according to the agency's public dashboard they have added a fourth supervisor to each shift and more than doubled training hours.
An audit report issued after the District Dogs incident recommended staff "reduce improvising and adlibbing." The dashboard says, that as of five months ago, OUC has migrated to a new protocol system and that training is ongoing.
WUSA9 asked OUC about the status of the supervisor who first described the District Dogs incident as a “water leak.” We are still waiting to hear back.
The Secure DC crime bill called for transparency at OUC and that is why we have the public dashboard. But the bill's author Councilmember Brooke Pinto issued a statement saying she is, "exploring additional intervention and legislative action."
WUSA9 also requested an interview with Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Lindsey Appiah. The office declined.