Eleven firefighters and ambulance workers among dead in Texas factory blast

 
1/6
David Gardner19 April 2013

Eleven firemen and ambulance workers died in the Texas factory blast, it was revealed today.

Six firemen, four paramedics and one other first responder were killed on Wednesday night as they fought the fire at the West Fertilizer Company.

At least four people who lived near the plant in West, Texas, are also feared dead, according to officials.

“We were all volunteers. There was not one person that got paid to be there. Not one person was ordered to go there,” said Brice Reed, an emergency medical technician with the West Volunteer Fire Department.

Among the dead was Kenny Harris, a 52-year-old captain in the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department who lived in West and ran to the fertiliser plant to help his neighbours put out the blaze.

“Captain Harris rushed to the scene compelled to provide assistance to his community during this crisis,” Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings said. “I want to express my deepest condolences to his family, friends and co-workers.”

The death toll was confirmed as an inquiry was launched into safety procedures at the plant after it was revealed that government regulators were told before the blast that there was no risk of a fire or explosion from ammonia stored there.

The company said the “worst possible scenario... would be a 10-minute release of ammonia gas that would injure no one”. The emergency planning report uncovered by the Dallas Morning News shows that the plant had up to 54,000lb of anhydrous ammonia but no other dangerous chemicals.

Other inspectors noted the proximity of the plant to schools and homes, without passing any judgment on the safety situation.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigated West Fertilizer, the company that owns the plant, on June 20, 2006, after receiving a complaint of a strong ammonia smell. Later that summer, the company was fined £1,500 by the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to have a risk management plan that satisfied federal standards.

Last night, rescuers were still searching for possible survivors trapped in the rubble. At least 179 people were injured in the explosion, 13 seriously, and dozens of homes and buildings were levelled.

Rescuers expect to find 14 bodies in the remains of the plant and the wreckage of 50 to 75 homes, said West’s mayor Tommy Muska. He said there was “no sign of life” in a five-block radius. A 50-unit apartment building was gutted, and a school and a nursing home with 133 patients were destroyed.

Other people still missing include fire volunteers Morris Bridges, Perry Calvin, city secretary Joey Pustejovsky, Cyrus Reed, a volunteer firefighter and medic, and brothers Robert, 47, and Doug Snokhous, 50.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in