If this report from The Dallas Morning News is correct, it’s possible the volunteer firefighters who first responded to a fire at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas last night had no idea it may blow up in their faces and kill them.
The fertilizer plant that exploded Wednesday night in West, Texas, reported to the Environmental Protection Agency and local public safety officials that it presented no risk of fire or explosion, documents show.
West Fertilizer Co. reported having as much as 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on hand in an emergency planning report required of facilities that use toxic or hazardous chemicals.
But the report, reviewed Wednesday night by The Dallas Morning News, stated “no” under fire or explosive risks. The worst possible scenario, the report said, would be a 10-minute release of ammonia gas that would kill or injure no one.
If it’s correct that the company reported that there was no risk of fire or explosion, I can only imagine the civil, and possibly criminal, suits from the city, state, and federal governments in addition to local residents West Fertilizer Co. could be facing.
Of course no amount of litigation will bring back those who were killed by the explosion or the dozens of homes and businesses leveled to the ground in a scene reminiscent of a devastating Tornado strike.
The blast was reportedly felt up to 45 miles away and registered on seismographs up to 400 miles away. I’d say that far surpasses the reported worst case scenario of a “10-minute release of ammonia gas that would kill or injure no one.”