Widespread problems hampering new 911 fire dispatch system in DC

A computer system used to dispatch Washington (DC) firetrucks and ambulances has malfunctioned almost daily since it was installed in the fall, slowing response times to their worst levels in more than two years and leaving dispatchers blind to whether they are sending the closest units to fires and medical emergencies.

DC Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) told the DC Council that her administration had begun emergency work to fix the system and will soon deploy additional ambulances and take other precautions to compensate for the troubled system. Tablet computers installed in ambulances and firetrucks beginning in late October have routinely lost their 4G network signals as the vehicles traverse the city, at times providing dispatchers with inaccurate information about unit location when deciding which are best positioned to respond to 911 calls.