Josh Powell Explosion: Social Worker's 911 Call Reveals Terror, Police Delays

A 911 call made by a social worker on the day there was an explosion at Josh Powell's home revealed not only the woman's terror for the two young boys killed by their father, but police delays also.

The Associated Press reported that the emergency call log shows that almost eight minutes passed between the social worker's call to 911, reporting that Susan Powell's sons were in danger, and when sheriff deputies were actually dispatched to Josh Powell's homes.

It took an additional 14 minutes for a deputy to reach Josh Powell's Washington home before the explosion happened, The AP reported.

The Call for Help

I'm on a supervised visitation for a court ordered visit and something really weird has happened, the social worker is heard saying on the recording. The kids went into the house and the parent, the biology parent, whose name is Josh Powell, would not let me into the door. What should I do? I'm really shocked and I could hear one of the kids crying but he still wouldn't let me in.

A short while thereafter, Josh Powell lit a huge fire that took his life and that of his two sons Braden, 5, and Charles, 7. A medical examiner's report has stated that the primary cause of the boys' death was smoke inhalation and authorities have also said the boys had severe chopping injuries to their heads or necks as they died in a house fire set by their father.

Authorities believed Josh Powell intended to kill his sons before the explosion at the home on Sunday.

He blew up the house and the kids, the social worker told authorities over the phone. He slammed the door in my face. So I kept knocking. I thought it was a mistake.

Double Murder-Suicide Planned

Authorities have said that Josh Powell planned the double murder-suicide, as he withdrew thousands of dollars days before the incident happened. The boys were on a supervised visit on Sunday, when they were murdered by their father.

Josh Powell also left a voicemail for family members and e-mailed his lawyer before committing the murder-suicide.

Hello, this is Josh. And I'm calling to say goodbye, Josh Powell said on the voicemail message obtained by ABC News. I am not able to live without my sons. And I'm not able to go on anymore. I am sorry to everyone I've hurt. Goodbye.

To his lawyer, Josh Powell wrote: I'm sorry. Goodbye.

Susan Powell Missing

Josh Powell was a person of interest in the case of his missing wife Susan Powell, who disappeared from their Utah home on a snowy day in December 2009. Josh Powell has said he took the boys out that day and when he returned his wife had vanished.

The father of two lost custody of the boys after his children's mother went missing. The boys were ordered into the care of Susan Powell's parents Chuck and Judy Cox, because authorities felt Braden and Charles were living in a dangerous home environment with sexually explicit material.

Josh Powell was living with his father Steven, who was arrested last year, on charges of 14 counts of voyeurism and one count of possessing child pornography. He was still trying to regain custody of his sons, but was denied that opportunity last week when a judge told him to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation.

The AP reported that since the release of the 911 audio recordings questions have been raised regarding how the dispatch center handled the social worker's call about Josh Powell.

The man who took the 911 call engaged in approximately seven minutes of questioning, ending with him saying he wasn't sure how long it would take deputies to arrive at the location.

We have to respond to emergency life-threatening situations first, he said, as reported by The AP.

Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer told the news organization that he saw two problems, the delay in the dispatch, and they dispatch it as a routine call.

Had our guy been going priority, and had they dispatched it in the first three minutes, we probably could have shaved 10 minutes off our response - but there's no way we get there in time, Troyer said.

You can read more from The Associated Press here or watch the video below: