FOR JOINING US FOR ABC NEWS. NOW I'M SUSAN TRAN. >> DC NEWS NOW DANIEL HAMBURG IS LIVE AT THE WILSON BUILDING. AND DANIEL, THIS IS NOT JUST TECHNICAL ISSUES THAT HAVE PLAGUED THE SYSTEM. SO WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING HERE. >> WELL, SUSAN, THERE ARE OF COURSE IT ISSUES THAT HAVE LED TO THE SYSTEM BEING DOWN. BUT THERE ARE ALSO STAFFING ISSUES THAT MANY ALLEGE HAS LED TO A POOR OUTCOMES OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET THROUGH TO 9-1-1. NOW WE'RE HEARING FROM CITY OFFICIALS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE EARLIER THIS MONTH, A BABY DIED WHILE WAITING FOR 9-1-1, TO RESPOND. >> SINCE DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR. DC CITY ADMINISTRATOR KEVIN DONAHUE SAYS THERE HAVE BEEN 18 INCIDENTS OF THE 9-1-1. SYSTEM GOING DOWN FOR A PERIOD OF TO THE 18 HAD SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS. >> IT HAS MORE SYSTEMIC IN NATURE AND MOST OF THOSE DEALT WITH DISPATCH ONE OF THOSE OUTAGES ON AUGUST SECOND LASTED 2 HOURS DONAHUE SAYS AN IT CONTRACTOR PUSH TO CHANGED EVERY WORKSTATION AT THE 9-1-1, CENTER INSTEAD OF THE PLANNED ONE OR 2 STATIONS DURING THAT TIME, A 5 MONTH-OLD DIED. THE FAMILY FIRST COULDN'T CONTACT 9-1-1 AND THEN WITH PEN AND PAPER. DISPATCHERS SAID MEDICS WHO ARE ALREADY ON ANOTHER CALL TO THE ADDRESS. DONAHUE SAYS EVERYONE FOLLOWED PROTOCOL WITH THE PROTOCOLS AND. >> SUFFICIENT TO BE ABLE TO ACCURATELY UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE A UNIT THAT THE SYSTEM SHOULD IS AVAILABLE. BUT IN FACT, LAST DONAHUE SAYS THEY HAVE A 22 POINT PLAN TO ADDRESS THE COMPUTER. AIDED DISPATCH OUTAGES. THE MOST IMPORTANT PART QUITMAN UPGRADES EQUIPMENT. WE HAVE. >> WAS NOT ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE DEMAND THAT ARE BEING PLACED ON 2.5 MILLION DOLLARS OF UPGRADES WASN'T GOING TO START UNTIL THE NEW FISCAL YEAR, OCTOBER FIRST. BUT BECAUSE OF THESE INCIDENTS, IT NOW HAS MONEY TO START DOING UPGRADES. WE HAVE TO LEARN FROM THAT AND CHANGE HOW WE DO THINGS. >> SO THAT DOES NOT COME TO BE ANOTHER INSTANCE OF A FAMILY IN A SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCE >> NOW, THERE IS A BIG ISSUE. OF COURSE, AGAIN, WITH STAFFING, 22 CALL TAKERS ARE SET TO BEGIN AT THE END OF THE MONTH. 19 VACANT DISPATCHERS WILL ALSO BE PROMOTED FROM WITHIN OUC AND THE BIG OTHER ISSUE HERE IS GETTING THOSE STAFFING LEVELS UP SO THAT. >> THE SHIFTS CAN GO FROM 12 HOURS TO 8