A D.C. firefighter who was shot over the weekend while being robbed ended up calling his own unit for help, after his 911 call was not picked up quickly.

Gary “Zeke” Dziekan says about three minutes had gone by after he called 911, so a good Samaritan offered his phone to call for Engine 18 directly.

“When the firehouse answered I just said, ‘it’s Zeke I’ve been shot I need help.’” Dziekan says.

Despite bleeding from the chest profusely he had the presence of mind to try and stop his own bleeding, and ask a good Samaritan to call his unit Engine 18. “ I had 911 on the speaker phone below me and I asked him to pull his phone out and I gave him the number to the fire house.”

The D.C. Office of Unified Communication, responsible for 911 calls released a statement and a detailed chart of t

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