On Saturday night, the District’s 911 emergency call system went down for 90 minutes. In a period when more than 300 calls typically come in, only 40 were rerouted. Similarly, Montgomery County lost its 911 service for two hours in July. D.C.’s outage has been traced to a mistake by a contractor, but also raises questions about backup systems and whether new technology can help. We speak to the Director of D.C.’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency about what went wrong.

Guests

  • Chris Geldart Director, D.C.'s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA)
  • Trey Forgety Director of Government Affairs, the National Emergency Number Association

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