. >> reporter: when elizabeth griffin hall brought them to see their father on sunday, the boys were excited to go. until that afternoon, she had only witnessed a father that loved his sons. thn josh powell opened the door and everything changed. >> i saw josh. i saw josh for just one second. his eyes caught mine. and he had a look in his eyes. it was just kind of sheepish. he shrugged his shoulders at me. he slammed the door. i thought it was an accident, that he didn't mean to lock me out. i knocked, knocked, rang the doorbell. i started yelling, josh, let me in. >> reporter: then she smelled gas and rushed to call 911. >> we'll have somebody look for you ththere. >> how long will that be? >> i don't know. we have to respond to life-threatening situations first. >> this could be life-threatening. i'm not getting an emergency response. >> reporter: over the past several months of weekly visits with the boys, elizabeth had grown to love them. i was like a grandma to the boys. like a piece of furniture. they crawled all over me. those boys -- those boys were my heart. >> reporter: and

911 for help minutes before josh powell ignited his house killing himself and his two children elizabeth griffin paul had brought the two sums for their weekly supervised visit when powell slammed the door in his -- and her face. >> i saw a judge for just one second. his eyes caught mine and he had a look in his eyes that were kind of sheepish and he slammed the door for it as soon as the door closed, i heard him say," charlie, i of a big surprise for you." i heard a break and cry out. >>powell never answered the door and when she smelled gasoline she called 911 but by then it was too late. you can see the complete interview tonight on "20/20." president obama will announce changes in the birth control role that has caused an uproar among religious groups. the president will make that announcement backtracking the policy brought last month is the banister and announced that religious-affiliated organizations had to back up the rule. the president is set to speak minutes from now and we will take you there live. d.c. mayor vincent gray is announcing a new initiative to crack down on robberies. th

. >> elizabeth griffin hall tells the 911 operator that seven-year-old charlie and five-year-old braden were one step ahead of her when powell slammed the door on her. >> how long will it be in. >> i don't know, ma'am. they have to respond to emergency life-threatening situations first. >> this could be life-threatening. he went to court on wednesday and he didn't get his kids back. and this is really -- i'm afraid for their lives. >> inside, police say josh brutally attacked his boys, then used gasoline to blow up the house. >> he exploded the house. >> ma'am. >> he blew up the house and the kids. >> the kids an the father were in the house? >> yes, yeah he slammed the door in my face. i kept knocking. i thought it was a miss tab. i kept knocking and then i called 9-1-1. >> authorities are admitting that emergency responders could have acted quicker. the call was dispatched as routine instead of emergency. a retired washington state police chief says the call taker had enough information to understand that this was an emergency. >> towards the end when she actually says he was just in

>> reporter: when elizabeth griffin-harris brought braden and charlie powell to see their father lasthe boys were excited to go, as usual. until that afternoon, she had only ever witnessed a father who loved his sons. but then, josh powell opened the door. and everything changed. did you -- did the door open? did you see josh? >> i saw josh. i saw josh for just one second. his eyes caught mine. and he had a look in his eyes. it was just kind of sheepish. and he just kind of shrugged his shoulders at me like that. and then, he slammed the door. and then, i thought that was an accident. that he didn't mean to lock me out. and so, i knocked. and i knocked. and i rang the doorbell. and i started yelling at him, josh, let me in. >> reporter: then, she smelled gas and rushed to call 911. >> we'll have somebody look for you there. >> okay. how long will it be? >> don't know, ma'am. they have to respond to emergency, life-threatening situations first. the first available deputy -- >> this could be life-threatening. >> reporter: so, you're telling the 911 dispatcher, this is an emergency. this

. >> reporter: elizabeth griffin hall tells the 911 operator that charlie and braden were one step ahead of her when he slammed the door in her face. >> i can hear one of the kids crying but he still would not let me in. >> she grows frustrated. >> okay. how long will it be? >> i don't know ma'am. they have to respond to emergency life-threatening situations first. >> this could be life- threatening. he went to court on wednesday and he didn't get his kids back. >> okay. >> and this is really -- i am afraid for their lives. >> inside police say josh powell brutally attacked his boys then used gasoline to blow up the house. >> -- house -- >> -ma'am -- >> -- intload exploded the house and the kids. >> the kids and the fare father were in the house? >> yes, yes, he slammed the door in my face, i kept knocking, i thought it was a mistake, so i kept knocking. then i called 911. >> he sent his sister a troubling e-mail. >> he said that -- >> authorities in washington state have now determined it took 22 minutes for a deputy to arrive at the scene of that fire after it was first reported. an in

those startling new details coming from social worker elizabeth griffin hall. she's speaking out for the first time. she took the boys to visit powell every week for the past three months but the last time, something was different. >> he had a look in his eyes. it was just kind of sheepish and he just shrugged his shoulders at me like that and then he slammed the door. what i tell myself is how it happened is because josh powell was really, really evil and that -- that there was no way -- there was no way to stop him. >> griffin-hall says she called 911 when she smelled the gas. unfortunately, we now know police didn't arrive until 22 minutes later. at that point, it was too late. federal regulators approving plans to build the first nuclear plant in the united states since 1978. two new reactors are going up at the plant in eastern georgia. there was one surprising vote against it. he wanted assurances that it could stand a nuclear disaster. steve jobs, a bad apple according to the f.b.i. the agency releasing a file when he was considering appointment to the e

. >> reporter: elizabeth griffin- hall tells the 911 operator that charlie and braden were one step ahead of her when powell slammed the door on her. >> i could hear one of the kids crying but he still wouldn't let me in. >> reporter: griffin hall grows frustrated as she waits for police. >> how long will it be? >> i don't know, ma'am. they have to respond to life- threatening situations first. >> this could be life- threatening. he went to court on wednesday and didn't get his kids back. this is really -- i'm afraid for their lives. >> reporter: inside, police say josh brutally attacked his boys. then used gasoline to blow up his house. >> he exploded the house. >> ma'am. >> he blew up the house and the kids! >> the kids and the father were in the house? >> yes! yes. he slammed the door in my face. so i kept knocking. i thought it was a mistake. i kept knocking. then i called 911. >> reporter: powell also sent an e-mail to his sister that day, indicating he may do something drastic. >> he said something about he can't live without his sons. and i'm not afraid of him. he's never going to

. >> reporter: elizabeth griffin- hall tells the 911 operator, that charlie and braden were one stephead of her when powell slammed the door on her. >> i could hear one of the kids crying and he still wouldn't let me in. >> griffin hall gets frustrated waiting for police. >> how long will it be? >> i don't know, ma'am. they have to respond to emergency, life-threatening situations first. >> this could be life- threatening. he went to court wednesday. and he didn't get his kids back. this is really -- i'm afraid for their lives. >> reporter: inside, police say josh brutally attacked his boys, then used gasoline tobly -- to blow up his house. >> he exploded the house. he blew up the house and the kids! >> the kids and the father were in the house? >> yes! yes. he slammed the door in my face. so i kept knocking. i thought it was a mistake. i kept knocking. and then i called 911. >> powell also sent an e-mail to his sister that day, indicating he may do something drastic. >> he said something about he can't live without his sons. and i'm not afraid of him. he'd never hurt me. i'm afraid

elizabeth griffin hall was a social worker hired to supervise 5-year-old braden and 7-year-old charlesisited with their father, josh powell. she took her responsibility incredibly seriously. for months, everything was fine. until this. >> i'm on a supervised visitation for a court ordered visit and something really weird has happened. the kids went in the house and the parent, the biological parent, his name is josh powell, will not let me in the door. what should i do? >> what's the address? >> i think i need help right away. he's on a very short leash with dhhd and the cps has been involved and this is the krasiekra craziest thing. he looked right at me and closed the door. are you there? >> yes, ma'am. i'm waiting to hear where you are. >> i would like to pull out of the driveway because i smell gasoline and i won't let me in. >> you want to pull out of the driveway because you smell gasoline? >> he won't let me in. >> as you know this ended horrifically. moments later powell detonated an explosion that killed himself, braden and charles. a spokesperson for the department of social

. >> reporter: elizabeth griffin hall tells the 911 operator that 7-year-old charlie and 5- year-old braden, were one step ahead of her, when powell slammed the door on her. >> i could hear one of the kids crying. but he still wouldn't let me in. >> reporter: griffin-hall gets frustrate while ed while-- frustrated while waiting for police. >> how long will it be? >> i don't know, ma'am. police have to respond first to things that are life- threatening. >> this could be life- threatening. he went to court to get his kids back and i'm afraid for their lives. >> reporter: police say he used gasoline to blow up the house. >> he exploded the house. he blew up the house and the kids. >> the kids and the father were in the house? >> yes! yes, he slammed the door in my face. so i kept knocking. i thought it was a mistake. i kept knocking. then i called 911. >> reporter: powell also sent an e-mail to his sister that day, indicating he may do something drastic. >> he said something about he can't live without his sons. and i'm not afraid of him. he'd never hurt me. i'm afraid for the kids. >>

. >> desperate for help and sensing danger, social worker elizabeth griffin hall pleads with a 91 operatoro send someone quickly. >> i'd like to pull out of the driveway because i smell gasoline and he won't let me in. >> inside the house, josh powell is brutally attacking his children. a frustrated griffin hall waits helplessly for authorities to arrive. >> okay. how long will it be? >> i don't know, ma'am. they have to respond to emergency, life-threatening situations first. >> it could be life-threatening. he went to court on wednesday and he didn't get his kids back. this is really -- i'm afraid for their lives. >> moments later, powell torches the home as an explosion rocks the neighborhood. >> he exploded the house. he blew up the house and the kids. >> the kids and the father were in the house? >> yes. yes. he slammed the door in my face. i kept knocking. i thought it was a mistake. i kept knocking and then i called 9-1-1. >> powell's sister also calls 911 after getting an e-mail from josh powell. >> he said something about he can't live without his sons and i'm not afraid of him. h