Fertilizer plant explodes in West, Texas

Tarrant · Apr 18, 2013

Between 75-100 homes and businesses were completely destroyed.

Among the damaged buildings was the West Rest Haven Nursing Home, from which first-responders evacuated 133 patients, some in wheelchairs. DPS also told FOX 4's Brandon Todd that nearly 30 residents of a nearby nursing home were taken out in wheelchairs after they were injured by shards of glass following the explosion.

Good write up on it here.

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story...sion-near-waco

Lithose · Apr 18, 2013

Big Phoenix_sl said:
Hah so about 100 yards give or take.

God bless rednecks.

Supposedly it was the school parking lot, he was picking up his kid. So closer to a quarter mile. And yeah, he should have felt safe--if the fertilizer was stored within regulation, there should have been no way for that kind of nitrate build up during the fire, for an explosion that large. (Or so an engineer friend tells me, I admit, I'm a layman when it comes to chemicals, but I know zoning laws are set up to account for catastrophic accidents.)

Lithose · Apr 18, 2013

Tarrant_sl said:
Between 75-100 homes and businesses were completely destroyed.

Among the damaged buildings was the West Rest Haven Nursing Home, from which first-responders evacuated 133 patients, some in wheelchairs. DPS also told FOX 4's Brandon Todd that nearly 30 residents of a nearby nursing home were taken out in wheelchairs after they were injured by shards of glass following the explosion.

Good write up on it here.

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story...sion-near-waco

Yeah, I'd be absolutely fucking shocked to find out this company followed storage guidelines. I'm sure we'll see in a few days how there was some high demand for fertilizer or some bullshit for the coming season, so they violated a ton of storage regulations to be able to move more when it came time to sell.

Big Phoenix · Apr 18, 2013

Lithose_sl said:
Supposedly it was the school parking lot, he was picking up his kid. So closer to a quarter mile. And yeah, he should have felt safe--if the fertilizer was stored within regulation, there should have been no way for that kind of nitrate build up during the fire, for an explosion that large. (Or so an engineer friend tells me, I admit, I'm a layman when it comes to chemicals, but I know zoning laws are set up to account for catastrophic accidents.)

Dunno bro, Google Earth puts it around 1/6 of a mile. Either way I see a industrial type building/facility on fire the very last thing Im gonna do is stand around and film.

Pasteton · Apr 18, 2013

That fox article says 'at least' 60-70 dead, maybe more? They can't get closer at the moment. This will put the Boston marathon to the sidelines?

Desidero · Apr 18, 2013

Pasteton_sl said:
That fox article says 'at least' 60-70 dead, maybe more? They can't get closer at the moment. This will put the Boston marathon to the sidelines?

It was bad enough that it will share the spotlight for a while, but big accidents don't have the same staying power in the news as terrorist attacks. Nobody has to worry about that plant blowing them up when they are going to work tomorrow.

Pasteton · Apr 18, 2013

Do we know for sure there was no foul play involved here? Happens in Waco, on anniversary of the Waco siege

Dabamf_sl · Apr 18, 2013

All these "I'd have run away" claims are retarded. If you see a giant fire, you're gonna stand and watch. It's cool, it draws the eyes. If you know it's an industrial building, you're still gonna stand and watch. I could see getting the hell away if you know it's a fertilizer plant, but anything less than that and you're just a liar. And hell no one would see a fertilizer plant on fire and go "hmm, I think it's gonna blow up so explosively that it flashes like a nuclear bomb."

Ego preservation, a defense mechanism to make you feel in control that something like that couldn't happen to you. It's why women are bad jurors for rape trials. You're lying to yourself.

P.S. That gif is fucking addicting. And why the hell is the first flash way off to the left, away from the fire?

Desidero · Apr 18, 2013

Dabamf_sl said:
P.S. That gif is fucking addicting. And why the hell is the first flash way off to the left, away from the fire?

There are two smaller silos just north (left, from the camera's perspective) of the main one.

It'd be nice if the gif was slowed down a bit more. I'd do it myself, but I don't have the Adobe suite anymore.

ronne · Apr 18, 2013

I wouldn't stand and watch it, but that's because I got burned (hah!) by doing so once before. Some dudes 2 story garage was going up structure fire style and the whole neighborhood was watching. Then, and I didn't know this could happen, his apparently massive fucking collection of half-empty paint cans starting exploding out of the roof of the thing and raining burning blobs of molten slag down across like a 2 block area. Ruined a ton of roofs/siding and caught some trees on fire etc. I've got a scar on my back from a bit of can landing on me and fusing with my skin. I like to tell bitches it's a bullet wound.

So yea, no more gawking for me.

tl;dr cool story bro

Hachima · Apr 18, 2013

Lithose_sl said:
Yeah, I'd be absolutely fucking shocked to find out this company followed storage guidelines. I'm sure we'll see in a few days how there was some high demand for fertilizer or some bullshit for the coming season, so they violated a ton of storage regulations to be able to move more when it came time to sell.

But then they learn their contract is canceled and need to collect insurance on all the crap they have stored because of an 'accident'.

MrBelding_sl · Apr 18, 2013

AN can be dangerous stuff. It's an oxidizing agent, not an explosive like PETN or TNT, but all you need is a fuel source + sufficient ignition and it is literally bomb material.The Texas City incident occurred because the AN was wrapped in paraffin (fuel source).

I do hope this is an accident as opposed to another plot. It's pretty sad when the best thing you can hope for is that the company is negligent.

Hekotat · Apr 18, 2013

We watched that Texas City explosion in a HAZMAT class one time, blew my mind they found bodies over 100 miles away.

Cinge · Apr 18, 2013

Hopefully they didn't have too many firefighters/medical people close to that crap when it blew.

OneofOne · Apr 18, 2013

gn0me_sl said:
Texas seems to be lacking in zoning laws.

I had this exact same thought. I don't pretend to know anything about such laws, but is it normal to have this type of plant right the hell next to schools/housing/etc?

Hekotat · Apr 18, 2013

cinge_sl said:
Hopefully they didn't have too many firefighters/medical people close to that crap when it blew.

They confirmed a handful of fireman and 1 officer from the early response team deceased.

Araysar · Apr 18, 2013

OneofOne_sl said:
I had this exact same thought. I don't pretend to know anything about such laws, but is it normal to have this type of plant right the hell next to schools/housing/etc?

It normal in texas where regulations = socialism.

Hekotat · Apr 18, 2013

It was probably built a long as time ago when there were no zoning regulations and the town just grew around it.

Alex · Apr 18, 2013

Aaron Sorkin is getting plenty of material for upcoming seasons of Newsroom.

In all seriousness though, what a terrible string of events this week. This has to be worse in casualty count than the Boston Marathon bombings.

AladainAF · Apr 18, 2013

Hekotat_sl said:
It was probably built a long as time ago when there were no zoning regulations and the town just grew around it.

As far as I'm aware, Texas has no zoning laws on a state level. It's up to the city/municipality itself, so Hekotat is more than likely correct. Blame the city for building up around the plant.

I'm about 100 miles away, I didn't feel any explosion/shake/etc.

BTW, Houston also has no zoning laws.

Fertilizer plant explodes in West, Texas

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