Waco fertilizer plant explosion

UPDATE: Video of the explosion...

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This deserves its own thread.



http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=7849255&postcount=965

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23BREAKING">#BREAKING</a>: Authorities: Fertilizer plant explodes near Waco, Texas, causing numerous injuries <a href="http://t.co/rjVUTCF9Kq" title="http://usatoday.com">usatoday.com</a></p>&mdash; USA TODAY (@USATODAY) <a href="https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/324705920980484097">April 18, 2013</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Waco">#Waco</a> Scanner - "Nine air evacs landing at West High School"</p>&mdash; Blogs of War (@BlogsofWar) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlogsofWar/status/324705856111398914">April 18, 2013</a></blockquote>
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WACO (April 17, 2013)—Emergency crews from throughout Central Texas responded Wednesday night after a major explosion at a burning fertilizer plant in West north of Waco.

West firefighters were dispatched to the plant earlier in the evening after an earlier fire rekindled.

The explosion was reported at around 7:50 p.m. in a frantic radio call from the scene of the fire at West Fertilizer at 1471 Jerry Mashek Dr. just off Interstate 35.

Numerous injuries were reported and multiple ambulances were requested.

Several buildings were reported destroyed and a nearby nursing home was damaged.

There were reports that people were trapped in the nursing home and in an apartment building.

Scanner traffic indicated that some residents of both the nursing home and apartment building were severely injured.

Children are among the victi8ms, according to reports from the scene.

Department of Public Safety troopers transported some victims to hospitals in patrol cars, said Gayle Scarbrough at the DPS Communications Center in Waco.

A triage area was established at the intersection of Haven and North Reagan Streets, but it was later moved to Marable Street and Meadow Drive because of the potentially toxic smoke from the fire.

Six helicopters were en route to West and were landing at the baseball field on Tokio Road, south of town, said Gayle Scarbrough, Department of Public Safety Communications in Waco.

Another report indicated as many as a dozen helicopters were responding.

A number of buildings were reported to be burning, some in residential areas and evacuations were underway.

Authorities were going door-to-door checking residences in the area.

West Middle School was one of the buildings reported to be on fire.

Injured victims were being taken to area hospitals.

An officer was dispatched to provide crowd control at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, which issued a call to all staffers to report.

The explosion knocked out power to a large area of the community.

Oncor’s online outage site showed more than a thousand customers without power.

Oncor Outage Website
Interstate 35 remained open, but a number of emergency vehicles were on the highway headed to West and from West to hospitals.

Fire crews from virtually every community in the area headed to the scene.

Waco firefighters and the department’s hazmat team were among the first to respond.

The Killeen Fire Department was sending its hazmat team and 10 firefighters to assist.

A woman who was passing through West on Interstate 35 at the time of the explosion said she and her boyfriend saw a fireball 100-feet wide shoot into the air.

A man who lives 15 miles northwest of Hillsboro felt the concussion from the explosion.

Army Sgt. Rocky J. Havens said in an e-mail he felt the shock in Italy, north of Hillsboro.

Tonya Harris of Groesbeck said in an e-mail she heard the explosion.

“My husband and l were cleaning up the kitchen after supper, and heard what we thought was someone running into our house. It shook our windows and doors. We immediately ran outside looking for the worst,” she said.

Crystal Dahlman of Blum said in an e-mail, “the explosion shook and rumbled my house worse than thunder.”

Brad Smith of Waxahachie said he and his wife heard what sounded like a thunderclap.

Lydia Zimmerman of Bynum was working in the garden with her husband and daughter at the time of the explosion.

“It sounded like three bombs going off very close to us,” she said.

Gulf war veteran Paul L. Manigrasso felt the blast in Waxahachie.

“Based on my Naval experience...we knew immediately what it was, but cannot believe it occurred 40 miles away,” he said.

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/...orted-At-West-Fertilizer-Plant-203505331.html

 

follow:

https://twitter.com/kirstencrow

 

An explosion has been reported at a fertilizer plant that is on fire in the town of West in McLennan County on Wednesday night.

A fire at the plant in the 300 block of Haven Street was reported shortly after 7 p.m.

Sources tell NBC 5 that the explosion occurred while firefighters were at the plant on a fire call.

First responders are reporting multiple injuries.

Waco DPS said there was major damage to homes and vehicles, as well as severe injuries to many people.

Viewers tell NBC 5 that a nearby funeral home and an apartment complext sustained serious damage after the blast.

Interstate 35 is closed in McLennan County because of the fire.

People as far north as south Arlington reported feeling the explosion, with many thinking at first that they felt an earthquake.

NBC 5 has crews on the way and we'll update this story with more information as soon as it's available. As this story is developing, elements may change.

NBC 5's Ben Russell contributed to this report.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Explosion-Rocks-Fertilizer-Plant-During-Fire-203508011.html

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>RT @<a href="https://twitter.com/toddstarnes">toddstarnes</a>: Scanner traffic says they ran out of ambulances to transport injured in West, Texas.</p>&mdash; johnny dollar (@johnnydollar01) <a href="https://twitter.com/johnnydollar01/status/324710214710484993">April 18, 2013</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Bombing at Boston Marathon, mushroom cloud over Texas, Elvis ricin attack, presidential temper tantrum. <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23newsinbrief">#newsinbrief</a></p>&mdash; David Burge (@iowahawkblog) <a href="https://twitter.com/iowahawkblog/status/324710335267364864">April 18, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Entire town of West ordered evacuated.

 

@DaveinTexas: It's important for people to know, who are following the West (a town N of Waco) plant explosion story, they were fighting a fire first

 

Video of explosion:

http://www.kwkt.com/news/caught-camera-fertilizer-plant-explosion-near-waco