The D.C. Council unanimously passed emergency legislation Tuesday that could help solve an ongoing staffing shortage at the 911 call center.
The bill, which had nine cosponsors, allows retired firefighters and police officers to work as call takers and dispatchers without losing any pay from their pensions.
As recently as October, just less half of all of the shifts were fully staffed, according to data published by the D.C. Office of Unified Communications.
At-large Councilmember Christina Henderson believes the problem could be solved with this legislation.
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“I think by having retired firefighters and police officers who’ve been out on the field, they can assess a situation from a phone call and better help to get speedy responses and effective responses,” she said.
Address mistakes have resulted in units being sent to the wrong section of the city multiple times in recent years — mistakes that have sometimes ended tragically.
“We can bring the knowledge of the city,” said Joe Chisholm, who retired in 2019 after 29 years with the fire department. “We all were taught the layout of the city when we were hired.”
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“We also know all our medical protocols, so when we are either receiving calls or dispatching them, we’ll make sure that the proper resources are being utilized,” he said.
D.C. firefighters who retire after 28 years of service can take home about 70% of their salary in a pension. Firefighters could make, on average, an additional $54,000 a year at $26 an hour, according to the Office of Unified Communications.
“So far, everyone seems supportive of it,” said. “I think the last check, I talked to Director [Heather] McGaffin, they have about 24, 25 dispatch positions that are currently vacant and open right now.”
“Through initial conversations, this legislation just kind of mentioning it around to different retired members I’ve talked to, there’s a lot of interest already,” firefighters union President David Hoagland said.
News4 reached out to the mayor’s office and the D.C. police union for comment on the legislation but hasn’t heard back.
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