Thread by @propublica

First responders arrive within 20 mins of a 911 call, but don’t enter the home.

When another crew finally returns nearly 3 hours later, half the household is dead.

Let’s walk through what happened. (THREAD)

CW: Details of the death of individuals by carbon monoxide poisoning

2/ Michael Negussie calls 911 at 8:48 pm, asking emergency crews to check on his cousins — Shalemu and Etenesh — and their two children in Houston.

3/ It’s mid-February. Texas is in the midst of an unprecedented winter storm.

Temperatures are below freezing.

Millions across the state have lost power.

4/ To stay warm, many families turn on gas stoves or light bbq grills indoors. Others run their cars in enclosed spaces to charge their phones.

Shalemu’s family is one of them.

propublica.org/article/texas-…

5/ On the morning of Feb. 15, the family is on the phone with a friend from Colorado when suddenly, the line falls silent. They’ve stopped responding.

6/ Worried, the friend and her husband call 911. They tell the operator that Shalemu, Etenesh and their children live in Houston, but they don’t know the exact address.

Dispatchers tell them that without an address, there’s nothing they can do.

7/ The couple spend the next 9 hours on social media frantically searching for someone who can direct emergency responders to Shalemu and Etenesh’s home.

Finally, they find Michael’s parents on Facebook and send a message:

“Please call police or call me.”

8/ When Michael’s parents, Ethiopian immigrants, see the message, they direct Michael, a flawless English speaker, to call 911.

They know the limits a language barrier can pose and they don’t want to take any risks.

Not now.

9/ At 8:48 pm, Michael calls 911 for the first time.

He tells dispatch that his cousins’ family is unconscious in their Houston home and he wants emergency responders to check on them.

10/ 20 mins later, at 9:08 pm, the fire captain at the dispatch center calls Michael back and tells him that responders are at his cousins’ house, but no one is answering the door.

11/ Michael is confused. He told dispatch his cousins were unconscious, so how would they be able to answer the door?

12/ The captain tells Michael that responders would have to break the door if they were to forcibly enter the home.

“That’s fine. Do that as soon as possible,” Michael responds. “We think that they might have inhaled carbon monoxide in the garage.”

propublica.org/article/how-to…

13/ But the dispatch center never shares Michael’s carbon monoxide concerns with the crew that’s on-site — nor does the fire captain request assistance from the police.

Less than five minutes later, the responders leave.

14/ It’s now 11:20 pm.

More than two hours have passed since Michael last spoke with dispatch. He hasn’t heard an update, so he calls 911 again.

15/ He speaks with an operator, who transfers him to a fire captain, different from the one he had initially spoken with.

No one can tell him if anyone has made contact with his relatives.

16/ Michael mentions for the third time that his relatives are unconscious as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

“Should we go and break through the window and figure it out ourselves? I’m asking you what we should do."

17/ The captain says a fire crew could go back to Michael’s cousins’ home, but he doesn’t know when that would be because crews are “slammed.”

18/ At 11:50 pm, first responders finally return to Shalemu and Etenesh’s home.

It’s been 3 hours since Michael’s first call to 911.

They don’t have to wait for police to help force entry into the home.

They enter through the front door.

It’s unlocked.

19/ Inside, first responders find Etenesh and her 7-year-old daughter, Rakaeb, dead.

Shalemu and his 8-year-old son, Beimnet, are unconscious, but alive. They’re rushed to the hospital.

20/ “Regardless of how well I communicated the problem to the fire department,” Michael said, “half of the family just disappeared overnight.”

21/ In Houston and many other cities, first responders have discretion to decide whether to force their way into a home based on the information they get from dispatch and at the scene.

Emergency response experts say tragedies like this demonstrate a need for policy changes.

22/ After we began asking questions about the incident, the Houston Fire Department launched an investigation into the response to Michael’s 911 calls.

23/ While the investigation is ongoing, HFD Chief Samuel Peña said it appeared the dispatcher “failed to provide the necessary information for the people on the scene to make the appropriate decision.”

24/ When responders returned with info “that apparently the first crew did not” have, Chief Peña said they acted “as we normally expect.”

He later added that “a thorough review is underway and any breach of policy will be held to account.”

25/ Texas' failure to regulate the power grid or require CO detectors in homes also contributed to this disaster.

Etenesh and Rakaeb, whose home did not have a CO detector, were among at least 17 who died of CO poisoning during the storm. More than 1,400 were hospitalized.

26/ Read the full story from @ProPublica, @TexasTribune & @NBCNews and listen to 911 audio here: propublica.org/article/texas-…

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