McDougald Terrace inspection, carbon monoxide crisis timeline
May 8-10, 2018: McDougald Terrace is inspected by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It receives a 34 out of 100. (A score under 60 is failing.) HUD inspects 26 buildings and 25 apartment units and notes 72 actual health and safety deficiencies, projecting a total of 820 deficiencies on the property. About 24 deficiencies are considered life threatening, with a projected total of 331. The inspection finds misaligned chimney/ventilation systems in 11 units and HVAC/hot water heater issues in three units.
March 6-7, 2019: McDougald Terrace is re-inspected and scores a 31. HUD notes 72 actual health and safety deficiencies, 60 of them life threatening. The overall projected health and safety deficiencies are 1,871, 153 of them life threatening. The inspection finds misaligned chimney/ventilation systems with gas-fed furnaces or hot water heaters in seven of the 25 units inspected.
Nov. 20, 2019 A nearly 5-month-old infant dies at McDougald Terrace.
December 2019: DHA CEO Anthony Scott receives a nearly $3,000 raise and a $15,000 bonus despite concerns about the agency’s public housing conditions and operations. Scott, who was hired in 2016 at salary of $195,000, had already received a $19,500 bonus and 2.5% raise tied to his performance in 2017.
Dec. 8, 2019 A second child at the McDougald Terrace complex, 6-week-old Britain Brown, dies.
Dec. 10, 2019: The Durham Fire Department responds to a Dec. 9 email from The News & Observer. and The Herald-Sun “There was no indication on either occasion that CO (carbon monoxide) poisoning was the cause for either patient’s medical condition,” responds Assistant Chief of Operations Andy Sannipoli.
Dec. 18, 2019: In an interview with The N&O and The Herald-Sun, Scott says there is no indication “the conditions at our properties were the cause of the death. In one case, something very different was the cause of death.”
Every unit has carbon monoxide detectors in it, Scott says when asked about residents reporting gas odors. “And we actually had them tested just to be sure after these two incidences occurred, and we are told that those detectors are working, operating fine,” he says.
DHA officials contacted the Fire Department, Scott says, “and at that time it was my understanding that there were no conclusive evidence that anything associated with CO levels was the result of the death of those infants.”
Dec. 25, 2019: Durham County EMS Assistant Chief Lee Van Vleet notifies first responders of his concerns, including several EMS calls where CO was or could have been a factor, according to Fire Chief Robert Zoldos. “During that teleconference, we discussed Assistant Chief Lee Van Vleet’s findings, possible scope of problem, enforcement powers, and we developed a Task Force concept for a CO canvas,” Zoldos wrote in an email.
Nov. 20 - Dec. 26, 2019: High CO levels are reported in three children and three adults, according to an email to Van Vleet.
Dec. 26, 2019: The date Scott said he learned about an unusual number of possible CO calls at McDougald Terrace and ordered an inspection of the 360-unit public housing complex on Lawson Street.
Dec. 27, 28 and 30, 2019: Teams assess 296 units for CO, monitor the homes, and educate residents about prevention of CO poisoning.
Dec. 27, 2019: 150 units inspected:
▪ More than 200 smoke or CO alarms installed.
▪ One pediatric patient found to have elevated CO. Adult (smoker) taken to hospital, treated and released.
▪ One adult woman transported with elevated CO. Patient, a smoker, has no reading of CO in her home.
▪ Three apartments had levels of CO “far below any action threshold.”
▪ Three apartments referred to Durham Neighborhood Improvement Services for a full inspection.
Dec. 28, 2019: 100 units inspected.
▪ 131 smoke detectors, 54 CO detectors installed
▪ 54 residents were monitored.
▪ One resident had elevated level of CO 19. Did not want to be transported to hospital.
▪ Two elevated readings in apartments: 15 at heater, 28 at a stove. “DHA aware.”
Dec. 3, 2019: 46 units inspected.
▪ 47 smoke detectors, 21 CO detectors installed.
▪ 28 residents monitored. One person had an elevated CO 25. Unknown if it was as smoker. Transported to hospital.
▪ Four elevated readings in apartments at stove or hot water heater. DHA was made aware and most repairs were made. No CO detected in follow-up reading.
Notes from the inspections:
The highest reading found in apartments was 28 parts per million. Alarm for CO is 35ppm.
“I have cautioned stakeholders against accepting that as evidence that no CO problems exist. This is because our reading were taken in what we would consider a somewhat open environment of the homes (due to many people coming in and out during our visit and good weather) and the varying levels of appliance use,” Zoldos wrote.
The email described the review as a “quick canvass” to help determine if there was a need to immediately evacuate residents of if there is a systematic problem at the complex.”
Zoldos observes smoke detectors in many rooms appear “far too old to be in service” and many inoperable. He also wrote that CO units were installed in inappropriate positions including above ceiling fans.
Jan. 1, 2020: EMS responds to a 3-month-old who died at a boarding house next to McDougald Terrace, according to Van Fleet.
Jan. 2, 2020: EMS takes two pediatric patients with elevated CO to a hospital, according to Van Fleet. The Fire Department checks several apartments, and DHA is contacted to make repairs to a hot water heater in one of them.
Jan. 2, 2020: Van Fleet says at a community meeting that CO poisoning cannot be ruled out in two babies’ deaths. until autopsies and medical examiner’s reports are done,
Jan. 3, 2020: DHA starts voluntary evacuation of McDougald Terrace, after Scott says he learned about the two additional CO cases Jan. 2.
Jan. 6, 2020: DHA announces that more than 171 McDougald Terrace families have been relocated to hotels, with dozens on a waiting list. Residents tell the Durham City Council about the conditions at McDougald Terrace and other properties.
Jan. 8, 2020: About 40% of the 70 occupied units inspected the day before had appliances emitting high CO, Scott says at a press briefing. About 200 families now occupy 225 hotel rooms across Durham.
Jan. 9, 2020: Initial testing indicates that the three infants who died in or near the McDougald Terrace did not die from carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Jan. 9, 2020: Scott announces that 256 families have been moved to hotels. About 22 of the 70 occupied units inspected the day before had appliances emitting carbon monoxide.
Jan. 10, 2020: About 270 families have now been moved to hotels, and 34 of the 58 units inspected the day before had appliances emitting carbon monoxide.
Jan. 11, 2020: A community meeting is held at Burton Elementary School. About 246 of McDougald Terrace’s 360 units have been inspected, with 202 appliances emitting carbon monoxide, Scott says. He describes shut-off valves leaking gas and old ventilation pipes that will likely need to be replaced.
Jan. 13, 2020: The Durham Housing Authority has spent $485,000 so far to evacuate residents during the carbon monoxide emergency, Scott says.
Jan. 14, 2020: Elected City Council, school board and county commissioners hold a press conference to say they support McDougald Terrace residents. Inspections have been completed at McDougald Terrace, and the housing authority has expanded its investigation into carbon monoxide leaking from aging gas appliances to Hoover Road, Scott says.
After inspecting 346 units at McDougald Terrace, DHA found 211 stoves, 38 furnaces and 35 hot water heaters emitting high levels of carbon monoxide.
Jan. 27, 2020: DHA has spent about $1.3 million on hotels, transportation, security, stipends for residents and initial inspections, Scott says. That does not include bills not yet been paid or work for which DHA has not been invoiced. Initial estimates indicate repairs will cost $4.3 million, Scott says. The money will come from a capital fund meant to fix problems at all DHA properties, and the agency will seek federal emergency aid.
Feb. 14, 2020: First six households return to their apartments; two others cleared for return plan to move back in later.
Staff writer Mark Schultz contributed to this timeline.
This story was originally published February 17, 2020 at 5:17 PM.
