As you probably know, many people were injured and killed in the small town of West, Texas Wednesday as a result of a very large explosion at the West Fertilizer Company. The investigation into the cause of the incident began on Friday, but the suspected culprit at this early stage is a highly-explosive fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, which was being stored in large quantities on site.
Our sincere condolences go out to all of the families and departments affected by this tragedy. Facts about the exact number of fatalities and injuries have been slow to emerge, but it appears that approximately 200 were injured and about 14 were killed. Today FirefighterCloseCalls put together a summary of the firefighter and EMS line of duty deaths that occurred:
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“As of now, it appears that there were 12 deaths related to the fire & EMS operations on the scene.
- 5 Firefighters with West FD.
- 2 Firefighters with Abbott FD/West EMS.
- 1 Firefighter with Merknel FD/West EMS.
- 1 Firefighter with Bruceville Eddy FD/West EMS.
- 1 Dallas FD Captain who lived in West went to the scene to assist.
- 2 Civilians who have ties to the West FD were helping on the scene.
(The 4 Firefighter/EMT’s were at the West EMS Station taking an EMT class, saw the fire and went to assist.)
NOTE: Preliminary plans indicate that there will be a memorial service on Thursday, April 25, at the Ferrell Center – Baylor University in Waco, Texas at 1400 hours.”
Bill, Thanks for the update. Not meaning to minimize the terror in Boston, this event has been glossed over by the media and is unbelieveable in its outcome. The effect on this small community and the loss of fire fighters will take years to overcome.