DEER PARK, Texas – The tragic industrial emergency that unfolded Thursday, killing two workers and injured 35 more, was largely hidden from the public for 46 minutes. The event not only highlighted serious safety concerns but also exposed significant failures in emergency communication.
Deer Park residents expressed their frustration over the lack of timely notifications about the incident.
One resident stated, “We had no clue anything was going on until the news told us. So no notifications.”
In the aftermath, KPRC 2 Investigates delved into the communication breakdown, revealing that the City of Deer Park attributed its notification issues to Code Red, a third-party alert provider.
A city spokesperson, who declined to be recorded, stated that Code Red’s text notification technology malfunctioned during the crisis, leading to late and confusing messages for many residents, with some receiving no alerts at all.
Despite the chaos, Mayor Jerry Mouton Jr. downplayed the severity of the communication failure.
“Everyone was notified. There was some glitch in the system, and most of that was worked through the process where our staff was able to talk to tech support, and all that was being handled,” the mayor explained.
READ MORE: Deer Park’s emergency alert system failed during deadly PEMEX gas leak; here’s what we know
Adding to the confusion, the CAER Line, an industry-specific alert system for the public, also failed to provide timely information. It took a staggering 46 minutes after the emergency began for PEMEX to upload a message regarding necessary flaring, without mentioning the deadly gas release that prompted the action.
Friday, Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia was critical of PEMEX’s efforts to notify the community.
RELATED: Harris County Commissioner Garcia calls out PEMEX’s response in deadly gas leak
“Here we learned that not all our industry neighbors are prepared to communicate effectively during an emergency,” Commissioner Garcia said.
