Huge fire and explosion at Fertilizer plant in west texas
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http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Ex...03508011.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_DFWBrand
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http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Ex...03508011.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_DFWBrand
http://m.wacotrib.com/mobile/news/f...cle_51082f25-3238-5c50-9d12-3f11bafcf352.html
UPDATE: Evacuations ordered in West after fertilizer plant blast
From staff reports | Posted: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 9:17 pm
Several firefighters and others were injured in a fertilizer plant explosion in West shortly before 8 p.m.
Multiple buildings caught on fire, including West Intermediate School, 1212 N. Reagan St., after the explosion at West Fertilizer Co., 1471 Jerry Mashek Drive, and a dispatcher calling for ambulances said ?we do have a lot of injured here.?
A dispatcher said the buildings on fire were near the 1300 block of North Reagan Street. Earlier, a dispatcher said people were trapped in a nearby apartment building.
Firefighters were trying to put out a fire at the plant when the explosion occurred, said West Mayor Pro-tem Steve Vanek, who was on his way to help when the blast took place.
Shortly after 9 p.m., Vanek was talking to personnel near the scene, visibly upset with his head in his hands, bent over at the waist. One of the people speaking with Vanek said ?he lost a lot of his buddies out there.?
Asked if he knew if any of the firefighters were killed, Vanek replied, ?I fear for the worst, but I?m praying for the best.?
Shortly after the incident, officials shut down access access to the plant at the intersection of North Reagan and Ronda streets and could be seen evacuating people from homes near the facility.
Bill Bohannan, who was visiting his parents at their house in West, near the plant, witnessed the explosion and said it was a devastating blast.
?I said, ?This thing is going to blow? ... and I told my mom and dad to get in the car,? Bohannan said. ?I was standing next to my car with my fiancee, waiting for my parents to come out and (the plant) exploded. It knocked us into the car... Every house within about four blocks is blown apart.?
A stream of emergency vehicles, including ambulances, sheriff?s deputies, and other emergency vehicles, poured into the town shortly after the explosion. A Hill County sheriff?s deputy who was directing traffic said the explosion shook the windows of his home in Whitney. The deputy said a fire broke out at the fertilizer plant and the blast occurred while firefighters were trying to put it out. Many of the injured are firefighters, he said.
Crystal Anthony, who serves on the West Independent School District board of trustees, said she and her daughter were ?knocked back? by the blast as they stood blocks away from the plant.
?A nearby nursing home is really bad, there?s an apartment complex and the school (West Middle School) that caught fire,? she said. ?We?ve been moving patients out of the nursing home and taking them to the football field and gymnastics building on Davis Street.?
Denise Day, a nurse at the West Rest Haven Nursing Home, 300 Haven St., said she had arrived at her home 23 miles from West when she heard the explosion. At first, Day said, she and her husband thought it was thunder. But after turning on an emergency scanner, they quickly learned what had happened and she returned to help evacuate about 50 to 100 of the nursing home?s 140 residents.
Many of those evacuated from the home could be seen sitting in wheelchairs near the end of the high school?s football field with cuts on their heads from flying glass after the explosion. About 15 to 20 ambulances were parked on the football field at about 9:45 p.m.
Christy Kolacek was eating with her family about three blocks away in downtown West shortly before the incident. She said they saw smoke at the plant and realized it was a fertilizer plant and knew it could blow. Driving away from the plant in the moments preceding the explosion, Kolacek said they could feel the pressure building in their ears.
Upon returning home, about three blocks from West High School at 1008 Jerry Mashek Drive, Kolacek said they found all the windows blown out of their house.
Kolacek?s husband said the roof of the high school had collapsed.
UPDATE: Evacuations ordered in West after fertilizer plant blast
From staff reports | Posted: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 9:17 pm
Several firefighters and others were injured in a fertilizer plant explosion in West shortly before 8 p.m.
Multiple buildings caught on fire, including West Intermediate School, 1212 N. Reagan St., after the explosion at West Fertilizer Co., 1471 Jerry Mashek Drive, and a dispatcher calling for ambulances said ?we do have a lot of injured here.?
A dispatcher said the buildings on fire were near the 1300 block of North Reagan Street. Earlier, a dispatcher said people were trapped in a nearby apartment building.
Firefighters were trying to put out a fire at the plant when the explosion occurred, said West Mayor Pro-tem Steve Vanek, who was on his way to help when the blast took place.
Shortly after 9 p.m., Vanek was talking to personnel near the scene, visibly upset with his head in his hands, bent over at the waist. One of the people speaking with Vanek said ?he lost a lot of his buddies out there.?
Asked if he knew if any of the firefighters were killed, Vanek replied, ?I fear for the worst, but I?m praying for the best.?
Shortly after the incident, officials shut down access access to the plant at the intersection of North Reagan and Ronda streets and could be seen evacuating people from homes near the facility.
Bill Bohannan, who was visiting his parents at their house in West, near the plant, witnessed the explosion and said it was a devastating blast.
?I said, ?This thing is going to blow? ... and I told my mom and dad to get in the car,? Bohannan said. ?I was standing next to my car with my fiancee, waiting for my parents to come out and (the plant) exploded. It knocked us into the car... Every house within about four blocks is blown apart.?
A stream of emergency vehicles, including ambulances, sheriff?s deputies, and other emergency vehicles, poured into the town shortly after the explosion. A Hill County sheriff?s deputy who was directing traffic said the explosion shook the windows of his home in Whitney. The deputy said a fire broke out at the fertilizer plant and the blast occurred while firefighters were trying to put it out. Many of the injured are firefighters, he said.
Crystal Anthony, who serves on the West Independent School District board of trustees, said she and her daughter were ?knocked back? by the blast as they stood blocks away from the plant.
?A nearby nursing home is really bad, there?s an apartment complex and the school (West Middle School) that caught fire,? she said. ?We?ve been moving patients out of the nursing home and taking them to the football field and gymnastics building on Davis Street.?
Denise Day, a nurse at the West Rest Haven Nursing Home, 300 Haven St., said she had arrived at her home 23 miles from West when she heard the explosion. At first, Day said, she and her husband thought it was thunder. But after turning on an emergency scanner, they quickly learned what had happened and she returned to help evacuate about 50 to 100 of the nursing home?s 140 residents.
Many of those evacuated from the home could be seen sitting in wheelchairs near the end of the high school?s football field with cuts on their heads from flying glass after the explosion. About 15 to 20 ambulances were parked on the football field at about 9:45 p.m.
Christy Kolacek was eating with her family about three blocks away in downtown West shortly before the incident. She said they saw smoke at the plant and realized it was a fertilizer plant and knew it could blow. Driving away from the plant in the moments preceding the explosion, Kolacek said they could feel the pressure building in their ears.
Upon returning home, about three blocks from West High School at 1008 Jerry Mashek Drive, Kolacek said they found all the windows blown out of their house.
Kolacek?s husband said the roof of the high school had collapsed.
This is going to be bad. I guess the nursing home next to it collapsed, that's a lot of old folks and caretakers.
Man I don't want to hear the numbers
Man I don't want to hear the numbers
Details are sketchy, but many of the casualties are believed to be fire fighters.
Resulting fire spread to the junior high and to the nursing home.
Resulting fire spread to the junior high and to the nursing home.
Lots of people trapped, but the area had to be evacuated due to the fumes.
Hearing at least 70 people have died but that number could end up being on the very low side.
Dude what in the world is that dude doing there with his kid? I mean, I know he couldn't predict it would explode like that. If he was solo go for it but that poor kid, he was terrified. Hope his hearing comes back.
