See that big red button on the wall under the sign "Do Not Push This Button!".... DC 911 outage caused by contractor error http://wtop.com/dc/2016/08/dc-911-outage-caused-by-contractor-who-pulled-wro... WASHINGTON — D.C. is now operating two separate 911 centers after a power outage caused by human error left the nation’s capital without any emergency phone service for almost an hour on a busy weekend night. A contractor working Saturday night inadvertently pulled an emergency power shut off switch that cut electricity to the 911 phone system and a call routing system at the District’s Unified Communications Center, said the center’s Director Karima Holmes. “Unfortunately because it was human error we weren’t prepared for it,” Holmes said. [...]