WASHINGTON — After flash flooding led to 10 dogs drowning, D.C. officials released a timeline into the response to the deadly District Dogs flood that indicates it took first responders 23 minutes to enter the business from the time the first 911 call was made.
In a closed-door session with the reporters, Director of the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) Heather McGaffin and DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly admitted that a dispatcher did not elevate the gravity of the emergency calls which would have helped rescuers respond faster.
McGaffin did not admit to any mistakes made by her team but said a dispatcher "misspoke" when he described the incident inside of District Dogs as a "water leak." She told reporters that the dispatcher that misspoke was still employed at OUC and taking calls. McGaffin refused to confirm whether the dispatcher was facing disciplinary actions.
Timeline of events, according to D.C. officials
5:06 P.M.
A caller who identifies herself as the manager of District Dogs calls in from Montgomery County. She tells the calltaker that she has been watching what was happening from a camera. "It's flooding horribly. The walls gave out," the manager says.
"That area floods so bad all the time. It broke the wall. The building is going under water right now," the caller says.
5:09 P.M.
A caller calls in from Prince George's County who has also been watching remotely through a camera. She identifies herself as the assistant manager at District Dogs.
"The whole place looks like a swimming pool right now. It's like the third, fourth time we flooded. This time it's terrible," she tells the calltaker. The second caller also indicates that the walls of the business gave out.
5:18 P.M.
A call is made from inside of District Dogs. The caller tells the calltaker that they need water rescue immediately and that there are seven people trapped inside and that one employee is not responding.
"We have a man in the water who can't hold on to anything and we haven't heard anything back from him awhile. We're afraid he might not be with us anymore."
5:20 P.M.
DC Fire and EMS that were on scene responding to the stranded motorists underneath the nearby Rhode Island Avenue underpass identify the situation and water level at District Dogs.
5:22 P.M.
Dispatch notifies DC Fire and EMS on scene that there is an incident at District Dogs.
5:29 P.M.
DC Fire and EMS confirm that they have entered the building.
Sixteen minutes went by before from the time the initial 911 call was made until dispatch relayed what was happening at District Dogs to first responders.
"The call taker, our public safety call takers are the people interacting with the public. That information from the call taker is then put into the CAD (Computer-aided dispatch) system. It is then read by a dispatcher who is relaying that information to fire and ems or MPD personnel," said McGaffin.
She said several people have access to the information entered into the CAD by the calltaker.
"There is a dispatch supervisor and also a fire liaison, so there are people looking at these calls," said McGaffin
"So that sounds like three people who missed it?" questioned a reporter.
To that McGaffin replied "I have supervisors yes, but I also have multiple calls going on at the same time."
Chief John Donnelly was asked if he thought some of the dogs could have survived if crews had been dispatched sooner. He wouldn't speculate.
"I would have liked to have been able to get there earlier. I think one of the important things to realize here is when that front wall collapsed it was a sudden and catastrophic incident it was immediate. It immediately filled up the room and at that point everybody's life was in danger," said Chief Donnelly.
McGaffin told reporters that part of the issue during the response on Rhode Island Avenue Northeast is that there current system does not allow them to classify the gravity of what was taking place inside of District Dogs. The 911 call details a flood, which does not reflect the reality that people and dogs were trapped inside with 6-foot floodwaters.
When asked directly why she would not apologize for the mistakes made, she said "what I am saying is we could have done things differently. This was an unprecedented event. So now, as we look at what we could have done differently we are making changes. There was no policy or protocol at that time for those people".
McGaffin said that moving forward, scenarios like the one seen at District Dogs will be categorized as a collapsed building. She says the decision to change the category was made Chief Donnelly moments before speaking to reporters.
DC Fire and EMS confirmed to WUSA9 Tuesday that all 10 dogs killed in the flood were being held in kennels on the bottom level, described as a bunk-bed situation. The agency released a statement, explaining that the six-foot wall of water rushed into the store, destroying and submerging everything in its path:
DC Fire and EMS wishes to express our sympathy and sadness to the families who lost their pets in this tragic incident. We also recognize the impact to the larger community and to everyone involved. This flood was a tragic and fast-developing event. The District Dogs employees put their lives at risk to save each other and the dogs. We are grateful for their actions.
DC Fire and EMS arrived at the front of the District Dogs storefront at 680 Rhode Island Avenue NE in an inflatable rescue boat and observed a person swimming out of the store and multiple dogs swimming in water. The rescue team was informed by the person in the water and by the incident commander there were additional people and dogs in the store that needed assistance. The rescue swimmers observed a broken window wall and deep water inside the store with contaminated and debris-filled water continuing to circulate through the store. The rescue swimmers immediately entered the store where they encountered extremely hazardous conditions including live wires, contaminated waters, and destroyed walls creating entanglement hazards. The swimmers encountered District Dogs employees assisting each other and dogs to safety. The rescue swimmers began a systematic search of the store and evacuated the six District Dogs employees and 20 dogs to safety outside the structure. As the waters receded, the rescue swimmers were able to reach the lower dog kennels and discovered ten dogs that had passed away in the flooding.
It is also important to note that the flooding and damage that occurred in the store was catastrophic and instantaneous. When the window wall gave way, a six-foot wall of water rushed into the store, destroying, and submerging everything in its path.