Man who is deaf unable to access DC's 911 text messaging system during emergency

WASHINGTON — A DC man who is deaf said he texted 911 to report a life-threatening emergency and was shocked when the response he got was to make a "voice call" instead.

Graham Forsey and his interpreter spoke to WUSA9. He said the problem happened on July 24 when he texted 911 to report a man who was having a mental crisis in the middle of H Street. The response he got was to make a voice call instead. 

“Please make a voice call to 911. There is no text service to 911 available at this time.”

Forsey said the reply was frustrating. 

"I texted you for a reason," he said. "I can’t call.” 

In case of an emergency, the 911 texting messaging service is the only way people with hearing disabilities can get some help.

Forsey reached out to the D.C. Office of Unified Communications (OUC). In an email, Director Heather McGaffin told him there was a high number of 911 calls at the same time he was trying to get in touch with 911.

D.C. ANC members have expressed what they called "grave concerns" about how the District handles 911 calls and its OUC.

There's been a renewed focus on the agency after 10 dogs died in flash flooding at District Dogs last month. Call logs showed emergency crews took more than 20 minutes to respond, with the call being mislabeled as a "leak" despite callers saying a wall had collapsed and people and dogs were trapped.

Forsey said it could mean the difference between life and death.

“I hope they will continue to focus on their bases. Their 911 text system is not robust enough. Hopefully, Heather’s team is working on it and making sure it doesn’t happen again,” Forsey said.

WUSA9 reached out to the Office of Unified Communications asking if this has happened before and if they could provide some statistics on how often. We also asked about the high volume of calls and the impact it has on their 911 text messaging system. We have not heard back.