The fire that triggered the devastating ammonium nitrate blast at the West Fertilizer Co. facility in West, Texas, on April 17, 2013, was “incendiary,” meaning that it was intentionally set, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
ATF made the surprising announcement on May 11 at a noon press conference at the Houston office of the ATF and the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO). ATF Special Agent in Charge Robert Elder referred to the fire as “a criminal act,” a conclusion that investigators reached after conducting an exhaustive three-year investigation that is still “active and ongoing.”
“We have come to this conclusion from over 400 interviews, a systematic fire scene investigation, considering witness observations, viewing both witness photographs and video, as well as extensive scientific testing at the ATF fire research laboratory located in Maryland,” Elder said. “All reasonable, accidental, and natural fire scenarios were hypothesized, considered, tested, and eliminated as being fire causes. The only hypothesis that could not be eliminated and was confirmed by extensive testing…was incendiary.”
Elder said no arrests have been made, but the interviews have “produced many leads in a complex investigation with many moving parts.” He said ATF is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to an arrest, and another $2,000 has been added by the Waco-McClennan County Crime Stoppers. Elder said anyone with information should call (254) 753-4357.
Elder said the ATF has spent more than $2 million so far on an investigation that has left “no stone unturned, including rebuilding “to exact specifications” portions of the West Fertilizer facility “in order to determine exactly what happened.” He said the West blast is one of ATF’s largest fire investigation in terms of scope, man hours, and money spent, noting that the devastating blast claimed 15 lives, destroyed more than 500 homes, and caused injuries and damage in a 37-block area of West.
“Your loss is felt by ATF,” Elder said, addressing the families of the victims. “It has been a driving factor into why we have gone to the lengths and the details that we have. These individuals were people serving their community in a voluntary capacity. They are true community servants. The lost their lives serving their community, and they deserve the best that we can give them.”
An initial investigation into the blast (GM May 20, 2013) by ATF and SFMO had ruled the cause undetermined, but outlined three possible scenarios, including a battery-powered golf cart that was kept in the fertilizer and seed building where the fire started, the building’s 120-volt electrical system, or an intentional criminal act. Investigators in May 2013 (GM May 13, 2013) also arrested a West EMS paramedic for possessing pipe bomb materials, but later said there was no evidence tying the individual to the West fire (GM Aug. 12, 2013).