The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) said last week that it was reducing the size of its investigative team at the site of the April 17 West Fertilizer explosion in West, Texas. CSB said the reduction in onsite CSB personnel is typical at this stage of an investigation because the blast remains have “limited or no evidentiary value” after weeks of excavation by other agencies.
CSB had earlier criticized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) for restricting access to and improperly excavating the site, and for preventing other agencies from conducting interviews and examining collected evidence in the weeks following the blast (GM May 27, p. 1).
ATF and the SFMO responded by saying their investigation “takes priority over all other investigations” because the fire and explosion remain “an active criminal investigation.” Although ATF and SFMO were unable to determine what caused the fire that ignited the devastating explosion, the agencies said an intentionally set fire was one of three potential causes that could not be ruled out (GM May 20, p. 1).
Bryce Reed, the 31-year-old former West paramedic who was arrested on May 9 for possessing bomb-making components (GM May 13, p. 1), was ordered by a judge on May 21 to undergo a mental health evaluation at a federal prison medical facility. Reed remains in the McLellan County Jail until the federal Bureau of Prisons arranges his transfer to a facility for psychiatric review.
To date, Reed has not been linked to the West Fertilizer fire and explosion, and is charged only with possession of an unregistered firearm.
CSB’s onsite team continues to survey blast damage using cameras and survey equipment mounted on remote-controlled aircraft. Last week CSB investigators worked with blast experts, structural engineers, and local officials to survey the West Intermediate School, which sustained particularly heavy damage. CSB said it plans to conduct a vulnerability analysis of the building “to understand the potential impact of this explosion had it occurred during the daytime when kids and teachers were at the school.”
TFI President Ford West, in a May 21 address at the International Fertilizer Industry Association’s 81st Annual Conference in Chicago, said the West Fertilizer facility was approximately 500 feet from the school, 650 feet from a nursing home that also sustained heavy damage, and just 450 feet from an apartment complex that was completely destroyed by the blast.
A tenth lawsuit was filed on May 22 in state district court against West Fertilizer and its parent company, Adair Grain Co. The suits seek damages for property losses and also for deaths caused by the blast. One of the lawsuits was filed by the widow of a Dallas firefighter who was killed in the blast, and another by the family of a 96-year-old nursing home resident who died of a heart attack while being evacuated from the facility. The explosion injured more than 200 and claimed 15 lives, 12 of them volunteer firemen and first responders.
TFI’s West toured the devastated town in early May at the invitation of the CSB. He told IFA conference-goers that TFI endured a “media hurricane” in the hours and days immediately after the explosion, fielding constant questions from reporters and correcting erroneous information related to the explosion and the industry, including initial reports that West Fertilizer was a manufacturer instead of a retail facility.
The industry has been forced to respond to more incorrect reporting in recent weeks. A May 22 news service story drew particular criticism for reporting that “at least 800,000 people across the U.S.,” as well as “hundreds of schools, 20 hospitals, and 13 churches,” are located near si