WASHINGTON — Questions are swirling about staffing issues at the DC Office of Unified Communications (OUC), after an off-duty firefighter who was shot, struggled to get through to 911.

On the night of Sep 20, off-duty firefighter Gary Dziekan, also known as Zeek, was shot and called 911 around 10:10 p.m. But instead of reaching a dispatcher, he was met with an automated message.

"It's an automated system, just repeating, you know, 'we'll get you when we get you,'" Dziekan said.

Unable to get through, he had a neighbor contact his firehouse directly.

"It was Zeek, and he said, 'It's Zeek, I've been shot. I'm at 8th and C Northeast. I'm bleeding and I need help.' I just said, 'We're on our way," said one of the DC firefighters who took the call.

According to dispatch logs shared by OUC,

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