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Battered Town Seeks Missing After Blast Kills at Least 5 Battered Town Seeks Missing After Blast Kills at Least 5
(35 minutes later)
WEST, Tex. — Rescue workers searched the rubble of a fertilizer plant on Thursday, looking for missing firefighters and survivors of a huge explosion that tore through this small central Texas town on Wednesday night, killing as many as 15 people and injuring more than 160 others, laying waste to buildings and potentially sending toxic fumes into the air, the authorities said. WEST, Tex. — Rescue workers picked through the rubble of a fertilizer company and the devastated town around it on Thursday, looking for missing firefighters and survivors of a huge explosion that tore through this small Central Texas town on Wednesday night, killing as many as 15 people and injuring more than 180 others.
Homes and businesses were leveled in the normally quiet town of West, just north of Waco, and there was widespread destruction in the downtown area, Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton of the Waco Police Department said Thursday morning. At an afternoon news conference, officials did not update earlier estimates that from 5 to 15 people had been killed in the blast, and would confirm only that fatalities had occurred. Scores of people have been treated at area hospitals.
“At some point this will turn into a recovery operation, but at this point, we are still in search and rescue,” he said. In a second morning news conference, Sergeant Swanton said that the fires were still smoldering at the plant, but “there is nothing out of control over there at this point.” Homes and businesses were leveled in the normally quiet town of West, just north of Waco, and there was widespread destruction in the downtown area, Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton of the Waco Police Department said earlier Thursday.
At least five people were killed and scores were being treated at area hospitals, Sergeant Swanton said, while emphasizing that early estimates of casualties could change. Three to five firefighters were missing, he said, mostly first responders from a volunteer fire department who rushed to the scene before the blast. “They were actively fighting the fire at the time the explosion occurred,” he said. “At some point this will turn into a recovery operation, but at this point, we are still in search and rescue,” he said. In a second morning news conference, Sergeant Swanton said that the fires were still smoldering, but “there is nothing out of control over there at this point.
As many as 75 homes have been damaged, along with several businesses and a 50-unit apartment complex. “Part of that community is gone,” Sergeant Swanton said. Three to five firefighters were missing, he said earlier in the day, mostly first responders from a volunteer fire department who rushed to the scene before the blast. “They were actively fighting the fire at the time the explosion occurred,” he said.
There is no evidence indicating criminal activity, he said, “but we’re not ruling that out.” As many as 75 homes have been damaged, along with several businesses and a 50-unit apartment complex, and storefronts were boarded up nearly a mile away from the blast site.
The White House issued a statement from President Obama that said, “Today our prayers go out to the people of West, Texas,” and he pledged that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies would join state and local efforts “to make sure there are no unmet needs as search and rescue and response operations continue.” “I saw a red flash behind me and the whole ground shook,” said Mark Kostecka, 46, a building maintenance worker who was arriving home for dinner at the time of the blast. “It was like an atom bomb going off.”
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas called the explosion “a truly nightmare scenario,” and said that information about death and injury is “very preliminary.” But he said that because West is so small, “this tragedy has most likely hit every family. It has touched practically everybody in that town.” Mr. Obama, he said, had phoned him from Air Force One, on his way to Boston, to offer his support. Jack Stone, a member of a roofing company crew that had driven in from Waco to repair damaged homes, said, “It looked like a hurricane came through.”
The disaster began with a smaller fire at the plant, West Fertilizer, just off Interstate 35, about 20 miles north of Waco. Local volunteer firefighters responded, said United States Representative Bill Flores. “The fire spread and hit some of these tanks that contain chemicals to treat the fertilizer,” Mr. Flores said, “and there was an explosion which caused wide damage.” Gov. Rick Perry of Texas called the explosion “a truly nightmare scenario,” and said that information about death and injury was “very preliminary.” But he said that because West is so small, “this tragedy has most likely hit every family.”
Videos posted online showed a large fire, visible from hundreds of yards away, followed by a fireball that blasted high into the sky and set fires burning into the night. “ It has touched practically everybody in that town,” he added. He said President Obama had phoned him from Air Force One, on his way to Boston, to offer his support.
“Right now we have a tremendous amount of injuries,” D. L. Wilson, a state trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said early Thursday morning. The White House issued a statement from Mr. Obama saying, “Today our prayers go out to the people of West, Tex.” He pledged that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies would join state and local efforts “to make sure there are no unmet needs as search and rescue and response operations continue.”
He compared the destruction to Iraq war scenes and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, an act of terrorism using explosives made from fertilizer. “I can tell you, I was there, I walked through the blast area, I searched some houses earlier tonight. It was massive, just like Iraq, just like the Murrah building in Oklahoma City.” The disaster began with a smaller fire at the plant, West Fertilizer, just off Interstate 35, about 20 miles north of Waco. Local volunteer firefighters responded, said Representative Bill Flores. “The fire spread and hit some of these tanks that contain chemicals to treat the fertilizer,” Mr. Flores said.
The mayor of West, Tommy Muska, said in brief televised remarks that 50 to 60 houses in a five-block area were heavily damaged, and that search-and-rescue teams worked through the night. A nursing home, with 133 residents was among those hit. The fate of those within it was, like so much on the scene, not immediately clear. The fireball blasted high into the sky and set fires burning into the night.
“We’re a little bit in the fog of war right now,” Mr. Flores said. D. L. Wilson, a state trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety, compared the destruction to Iraq war scenes and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, an act of terrorism using explosives made from fertilizer.
“I can tell you, I was there, I walked through the blast area, I searched some houses earlier tonight,” he said. “It was massive, just like Iraq, just like the Murrah building in Oklahoma City.”
The mayor of West, Tommy Muska, said in brief televised remarks that 50 to 60 houses in a five-block area were heavily damaged, and that search-and-rescue teams worked through the night. A nursing home, with 133 residents, was among those hit. The fate of those within it was, like so much on the scene, not immediately clear.
Mr. Wilson and other local officials told reporters that half the town had been evacuated because of fears of toxic fumes being spread by heavy winds. First responders continued to search “house by house,” he said.Mr. Wilson and other local officials told reporters that half the town had been evacuated because of fears of toxic fumes being spread by heavy winds. First responders continued to search “house by house,” he said.
An enormous triage area had been set up, and television footage showed dozens, perhaps more than 100, emergency vehicles attending to huddled casualties under blankets and on stretchers. Many of the wounded were taken to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, where more than 250 physicans and staff members responded to provide medical care. Twenty-eight people were admitted and remained at the hospital Thursday, including five who were being treated in the intensive care unit, according to hospital officials. In addition, 2 pediatric trauma patients were transferred to a children’s hospital in Temple, 12 elderly nursing home residents were treated and discharged to other nursing homes, and more than 50 other people were treated and released.
At the edge of that triage area near a baseball field shortly before midnight, dozens of emergency and law enforcement personnel — state troopers, firefighters, constables, sheriff’s deputies — waited for the injured to be brought in. In the dark of night miles from the plant, no one was certain what had happened, or how many were hurt. A triage area was set up next to a baseball field, and a few miles north of West, the school gymnasium in the town of Abbott was converted into an emergency shelter for evacuees who lived near the plant. But overnight Thursday, the nearly 100 cots were empty, and dozens of volunteers, including faculty members and teenage students, waited for a rush of people that never came. Bottles of water sat in bundled packages outside the school, untouched.
A nurse at the McLennan County jail stood by his car, dressed in scrubs, stethoscope around his neck. “Right now they’re in the process of doing search and rescue,” said the correctional nurse, Glen Stephens. “I saw something on the news, and got a couple of phone calls. The director of nursing at our facility sent out a text to all the nurses, and there’s quite a few of us here.” The Red Cross in the Dallas and Fort Worth region said in a statement posted online that it had crews on the way to help, and Red Cross workers were looking for a safe place to house residents who had been displaced. Sergeant Swanton said that the town would help its own. “I can promise you that the city of West will not let a person stand out in the rain,” he said. “They will bring you into their home, and you will be comfortable.”
A few steps away, a man in a pickup truck pulled up to a state trooper directing traffic. “Volunteers?” he asked the state trooper, and he was directed down the road. A spokesman for the F.B.I. in San Antonio said Thursday morning that there had been no indication of criminal activity in the plant explosion. The spokesman, Special Agent Erik Vasys, said the agency had personnel on the scene to assist local officials if needed. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also on the scene, and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, the federal entity that investigates chemical disasters, said that it had sent its own investigative team to the site.
A few miles to the north of West, the school gymnasium in the town of Abbott was converted into an emergency shelter for evacuees who lived near the plant. But at 3 a.m. Thursday, the nearly 100 cots were empty, and dozens of volunteers, including faculty members and teenage students, waited for a rush of people that never came. Bottles of water sat in bundled packages outside the school, untouched. Zak Covar, the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said during the governor’s news conference that the company has been in business since 1962 and is one of a number of small fertilizer companies across rural Texas that distributes supplies to local farmers. The company has “an average compliance history,” with one air quality complaint registered in 2006. In that episode, on June 9, 2006, according to state records, residents complained to the commission about the “ammonia smell” that was “very bad last night.”
Rodney Watson, the chief deputy for the Hill County sheriff’s office, said he believed those who were evacuated were staying with friends or relatives. “Right now, there’s not a whole lot that can be done,” he said. “They got the fire contained, and there’s no immediate danger with the chemicals or anything. There’s no hazmat situation.”
A spokesman for the F.B.I. in San Antonio said Thursday morning there has been no indication of criminal activity in the plant explosion. The spokesman, Special Agent Erik Vasys, said the agency has personnel on-scene to assist local officials if needed. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is on the scene, and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, the federal entity that investigates chemical disasters, said that it has sent its own investigative team to the site, which “is scheduled to arrive in Texas Thursday afternoon,” according to the agency
The Red Cross in the Dallas and Fort Worth region said in a statement posted online that it had crews on the way to help. Red Cross workers were looking for a safe place to house residents who had been displaced. Sergeant Swanton said that the town would help its own. “I can promise you that the city of West will not let a person stand out in the rain,” he said. “They will bring you into their home, and you will be comfortable.”
Zak Covar, the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said during the governor’s news conference that the company has been in business since 1962 and is one of a number of small fertilizer companies across rural Texas. The company has “an average compliance history,” with one air quality complaint registered in 2006. In that episode, on June 9, 2006, according to state records, residents complained to the commission about the “ammonia smell” that was “very bad last night.”
That occurrence was investigated by the agency and resolved with the granting of two air permits to the company by the end of that year, Mr. Covar said.That occurrence was investigated by the agency and resolved with the granting of two air permits to the company by the end of that year, Mr. Covar said.
The company filed its most recent risk management plans with the federal Environmental Protection Agency in June 2011, and stated that it stored 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on the site. That filing stated that the company had just seven full-time employees and had not accidentally released any ammonia in the previous five years. The company filed its most recent risk management plans with the federal Environmental Protection Agency in June 2011, and stated that the company had just seven full-time employees and had not accidentally released any ammonia in the previous five years.
The company laid out its “worst-case scenario” in the filing, which it stated would be “the release of the total contents of a storage tank released as a gas over 10 minutes,” or “a release from a break in a transfer hose.” The company laid out its “worst-case scenario” in the filing, which it stated would be “the release of the total contents of a storage tank released as a gas over 10 minutes,” or “a release from a break in a transfer hose.” The company stated in the form that it did not consider fire or explosion as significant hazards.
Because it was built in 1962, the facility was grandfathered into state regulations, Mr. Covar said. The company was supposed to get reauthorized in 2004, but failed to do so. Mr. Covar would not speculate on the reason they failed to do it. Because it was built in 1962, the facility was grandfathered into state regulations, Mr. Covar said. The company was supposed to get reauthorized in 2004, but failed to do so. Mr. Covar would not speculate on the reason.
He also said that currently the agency did not detect health concerns in the air near the facility.He also said that currently the agency did not detect health concerns in the air near the facility.
Governor Perry, in response to questions, declined to speculate about whether the regulatory financing and oversight was adequate.Governor Perry, in response to questions, declined to speculate about whether the regulatory financing and oversight was adequate.
Records from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration record that the agency’s last inspection of the facility occurred 28 years ago, in 1985. The agency found five violations that were considered “serious,” including some improper handling of anhydrous ammonia. The company was fined $30. Records from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration indicate that the agency’s last inspection of the facility occurred 28 years ago, in 1985. The agency found five violations that were considered “serious,” including some improper handling of anhydrous ammonia. The company was fined $30.
West is a small country town of just 2,700 people. Its name refers not to its location on the state map, in northern central Texas, but to its first postmaster, T. M. West. The company stores substantial amounts of chemicals used in commercial fertilizers that can become explosive under proper conditions: anhydrous ammonia and ammonium nitrate. Anhydrous ammonia is a relatively inexpensive source of nitrogen for crops that is usually made from natural gas and atmospheric nitrogen. It is stored as a liquid in pressurized tanks and farmers inject it into the soil, where it vaporizes into a colorless, corrosive gas. Ammonium nitrate was a chemical used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. A filing late last year with the Environmental Protection Agency stated that the company stored 540,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate on the site and 110,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia.
An estimated 300 to 400 first responders and officials from numerous local, state and federal agencies — sheriff’s deputies, volunteer firefighters, A.T.F. agents, police officers, medics, constables — have converged on West, as have dozens of reporters from media outlets around the country and the world. The grass behind the West Church of Christ became a parking lot for the triage area overnight; the auction barn off Interstate 35 — with a sign reading “Cattle Sale Thursday” — was turned into a staging site for news conferences. Those speaking at the conferences had to raise their voices to be heard above the mooing cows in the nearby livestock pens. West is a small country town of just 2,700 people. Its name refers not to its location on the state map, but to its first postmaster, T. M. West.
The skies over West were a dark gray even at 9 a.m., and a steady and at times severe rain fell on the region. In the hours before dawn, the air was choked with smoke, and it had a bitter, gunpowder-like scent and aftertaste, the way the air gets in the moments after a Fourth of July fireworks show has ended. The morning rains seemed to wash away much of the stench by midmorning. An estimated 300 to 400 first responders and officials from numerous local, state and federal agencies — sheriff’s deputies, volunteer firefighters, A.T.F. agents, police officers, medics, constables — have converged on the town, as have dozens of reporters from news media outlets around the world.
In a statement late Wednesday, Gov. Rick Perry said: “We are monitoring developments and gathering information as details continue to emerge about this incident. We have also mobilized state resources to help local authorities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West and the first responders on the scene.” The skies over West were a dark gray, and a steady and at times severe rain fell on the region. In the hours before dawn, the air was choked with smoke, and it had a bitter, gunpowder-like scent and aftertaste, the way the air gets in the moments after a Fourth of July fireworks show has ended. The morning rains seemed to wash away much of the smell by midmorning, and the search efforts continued.

Manny Fernandez reported from West, Tex., and John Schwartz from New York. Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Christine Hauser, Henry Fountain and Ravi Somaiya contributed reporting from New York; Steven Greenhouse from Austin; and Ian Urbina from Washington. 

Manny Fernandez reported from West, Tex., and John Schwartz from New York. Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Christine Hauser, Henry Fountain and Ravi Somaiya contributed reporting from New York; Steven Greenhouse from Austin; and Ian Urbina from Washington.