A huge explosion occurred just before 8 p.m. April 17 at the West Fertilizer Inc. plant in West, Texas, leveling nearby houses and businesses and injuring at estimated 200 individuals. The blast also caused an outbreak of fires in buildings located near the facility, including a nursing home and the West Middle School.
The West Fertilizer plant is located just off Interstate 35, about 80 miles south of Dallas and 20 miles north of Waco. Local firefighters were on the scene battling a fire at the plant when the blast occurred at 7:50 p.m.
Local authorities at 11 p.m. estimated the number of injured at 200, 40 of them critically. By midnight, reports came in that at least two EMS personnel were confirmed dead, along with possibly three fire fighters. Fire officials said they feared that the number of casualties could rise to as high as 60-70 dead, said Dr. George Smith, the emergency management system director of the city.
A triage center was set up in the nearby West High School football field immediately after the explosion until a mandatory evacuation was enforced about two hours after the blast due to concerns that a second explosion might occur.
West Mayor Tommy Muska reported at an 11 p.m. press conference that heavy damage was sustained to a 5-6 block area of the town, and that authorities were moving door-to-door to enforce the evacuation and to look for injured residents. The many injured were being transported to hospitals in Waco and nearby Hillsboro and Temple.
Traffic was also being rerouted off of Interstate 35, and a no-fly zone was being enforced around the blast site, prohibiting aircraft from flying below 3,000 feet within a three mile radius of the plant.
“We need your prayers,” Muska said. “There are a lot of people that got hurt, and a lot of people that I’m sure won’t be here tomorrow.”
Local media reported that firefighters had responded to the fire at about 6:30 p.m., and that the facility was “fully engulfed” by roughly 7 p.m. There were no confirmed reports on what type of fertilizer was being stored or blended at the plant, but several reporters and witnesses referred to both ammonium nitrate and anhydrous ammonia.
Muska also mentioned concerns about ammonia leaking from the facility after the explosion, and said hazmat crews were on the scene. He advised people living north of the plant to stay indoors due to concerns about air quality because of winds potentially carrying chemical fumes from the fire.
The explosion reportedly left 75-100 business in West severely damaged or destroyed. Some 133 patients were evacuated from a nearby nursing home, which the mayor said “took significant damage” from the blast.
Video and still images released in the hours after the explosion showed the facility engulfed in fire in the moments before the blast. The blast itself was caught briefly in one video clip before the image was abruptly cut off. Photos taken in the minutes after the blast showed a massive gray plume of smoke mushrooming over the blast site.
The explosion was reportedly so powerful that people living in Arlington, Texas, about 70 miles north of West, heard the blast, while some residents living 50 miles from the blast reported feeling what seemed like an earthquake.