香港三级片

ST. LOUIS 鈥� A cascade of mistakes led to the city鈥檚 failure to properly deploy its storm sirens last week before a deadly tornado tore through the city.

The city鈥檚 emergency management staff were in a workshop, out of the office, despite storm warnings that day. The emergency management chief called the fire department to activate the sirens, but didn鈥檛 appear to clearly communicate in the call.

And, even if communication was clear, Mayor Cara Spencer said on Wednesday, the button at the St. 香港三级片 Fire Department that activates the sirens wasn鈥檛 working.

鈥淚t鈥檚 my understanding that the button was not pushed,鈥� Spencer said at a press conference. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also my understanding that, had the button been pushed, it did not work the way it should have.鈥�

Late Tuesday night, Spencer placed the emergency management chief, Sarah Russell, on paid administrative leave. It was the City Emergency Management Agency鈥檚 job to 鈥渁lert the public to dangers,鈥� and it failed, Spencer said.

鈥淲e knew there was weather coming,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淲e should have been at the button.鈥�

Friday鈥檚 storm damaged homes from Clayton to Granite City. But the worst hit north St. Louis. Cars flipped, roofs were torn off and entire floors in some homes destroyed. Dozens of people were injured, five killed.

And some residents and officials quickly began to complain that they hadn鈥檛 heard the sirens. Over the next few days, anger grew. Some families of the dead faulted the city in their loved ones鈥� deaths.

But at the press conference on Wednesday, Spencer was backed by a cadre of aldermen, several of whom defended the new mayor and lauded her work in recent days.

鈥淭here is nothing that I have asked of this mayor that she has not done,鈥� said Alderwoman Sharon Tyus, of the Kingsway East neighborhood. 鈥淪he has gone above and beyond what is required of her. She has been in office one month.鈥�

Tyus said previous administrations were to blame for not upgrading the sirens, not Spencer.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to blame somebody, blame the right people, because she鈥檚 doing everything she can. I stand by her,鈥� Tyus said.

At Wednesday鈥檚 press conference, Spencer also offered details on the failure, following days of mixed messages from city officials.

鈥榊ou got the sirens?鈥�

Shortly after noon Friday, messages from the city鈥檚 emergency alert system warned residents of a tornado watch. At about 2:10 p.m., messages alerted residents of a tornado warning, and told them to take shelter immediately.

Russell, the CEMA chief, and other CEMA staffers were at a workshop 鈥� and not at their office, where CEMA鈥檚 siren button is located 鈥� even though strong storms were forecast.

Because emergency management officials couldn鈥檛 sound the sirens, Russell called the fire department at 2:37 p.m. to ask it to push its button.

On Tuesday night, the city shared a recording of that phone call.

The call starts with a short discussion about a tornado warning that had been issued, with Russell expressing confusion about when it expired.

Then, Russell says, 鈥淵ou got the sirens?鈥�

鈥淵es ma鈥檃m,鈥� the fire department employee says.

鈥淎lright, thank you so much,鈥� Russell responds.

The tornado touched down in Clayton at 2:41 p.m. and tore northeast before reaching the Mississippi River. Winds that topped 150 mph toppled trees and ripped brick from homes.

That same day, residents began to complain that they hadn鈥檛 heard the sirens 鈥� even if they were outdoors. St. 香港三级片 operates 60 warnings sirens that date to 1999.

Over the next few days, Russell and Spencer were asked repeatedly about the sirens. Russell said Sunday the 鈥渇ire alarm office鈥� was primarily responsible for activating the sirens. On Monday, the mayor said the sirens failed to properly activate because of 鈥渁 human failure, a failure in protocol.鈥�

Spencer blamed the mistake on a confusion over who was responsible for activating the sirens. She said she would immediately rewrite city policy, giving authority to the fire department alone.

But on Tuesday afternoon, when the fire department tested its version of the button that activates the city storm sirens, it discovered the button wasn鈥檛 working, Spencer said. Repairs began immediately, Spencer said.

And she placed a fire department staffer at the CEMA office around the clock, so that person could push CEMA鈥檚 storm button, if needed.

Sirens sound across the city

Residents were still furious.

鈥淚 feel like they鈥檙e responsible for my mother鈥檚 death,鈥� Reginald Holmes, whose mother Delois Holmes was among the victims, told the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday about the siren failure.

Just after 10:20 p.m. on Tuesday night, Spencer鈥檚 staff sent an announcement saying she had put Russell on leave.

鈥淐ommissioner Russell has served our city for years and is a person of good will, but I cannot move on from this without providing accountability and ensuring that our emergency management is in trusted hands,鈥� the mayor said in a statement.

Spencer appointed John Walk, a fire department captain, to take Russell鈥檚 spot 鈥渦ntil a permanent commissioner has been found.鈥� Michael Thiemann, a division chief with the Metro West Fire Protection District, would provide the city with 鈥渁dditional incident management response support.鈥�

Spencer said an internal investigation into the siren failure revealed 鈥渕ultiple鈥� issues, including the broken button.

She also called for an external investigation to answer lingering questions.

For instance, it鈥檚 not clear if the fire department staffer Russell called knew who was calling. Nor did Spencer know if the fire department鈥檚 button worked during a siren test Thursday last week. She didn鈥檛 know how long that button had been broken.

Spencer declined to say if there would be any discipline for fire department employees.

The fire department announced Wednesday morning it planned to test repairs to its button at noon that day.

And, few seconds after noon, sirens sounded across the city.