Log: 8 minutes to send help to Josh Powell home

[WoodysGirl]

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Emergency call logs show that nearly eight minutes elapsed between when a social worker called 911 to report that Josh Powell's children were in danger and when deputies were dispatched, and it took another 14 minutes for a deputy to get to the home.

The Associated Press obtained the logs Wednesday night under a public records request.

Recently released audio tapes of the 911 calls raised questions about the dispatch center's handling of the social worker's calls, which detailed that Powell, the husband of a missing Utah woman, had locker her out of the house during what was supposed to be a supervised visit with his two young sons.

Minutes later, Powell torched the home, killing all three.

The recordings showed that the man who took her call engaged in nearly seven minutes of questioning that ended with him saying he didn't know how long it would be before a deputy could respond.

Read the rest: http://news.yahoo.com/log-8-minutes-send-powell-home-020708690.html

----------------------------------
I can't say the dispatcher followed the correct protocol, or whether the social worker was ineffective in relaying the proper urgency. It just seems there was a long time in between the phone call and when help finally showed. So unfortunate.

 

[Hoofbite]

The dispatcher seemed a little disrespectful and may have lacked the appropriate tone but what is he supposed to do if someone calls and says I'm in charge of supervising two children who need help at an address that I am unsure of?

I think the quote from the supervisor sums it up.

"Are we unhappy with the etiquette and the manner? Yes," Troyer said. "Did it affect the response time? No. Dispatchers are typing information and addresses while they're on the phone with callers."

And then there's this.

It took almost two minutes from the start of the call for the dispatcher to learn Powell's address

Nearly 20 seconds into the call, the dispatcher asked her for the address. The social worker didn't know and needed to look for it. It took her about 90 seconds to find it in her car.

At best, that leaves how many minutes for someone to arrive?

Not sure anything could have been. The cops wouldn't have just burst into the door without trying to make contact first and the guy probably would have set the house off at that point.

Just an awful situation. Really no way to stop it once it all began. He was hell bent on going out and nothing was going to stop it.

If the house truly "exploded" it's likely it would have killed anyone responding who had gained entry.