Posted on 04/17/2013 8:55:27 PM PDT by mnehring
Explosions rocked a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, Wednesday evening as firefighters were battling a fire, causing multiple injuries, authorities said.
Dani Moore, dispatcher with the Texas Department of Pubic Safety, said she did not know how many were injured or the extent of their injuries.
"The fertilizer plant was on fire. Firefighters were on the scene. There was an explosion ... followed by a second explosion,'' she said.
She said there were multiple damages to structures and vehicles. She said she had no information on the cause of the blasts or fire.
WFAA.com reported at least 10 structures were on fire, including a school which is next door to the plant. An emergency triage center was set up at a high school football field.
The TV station said on its website that a shock wave was felt in parts of North Texas.
The Waco Tribune reported injuries to several people including firefighters.
The fertilizer plant is about 20 miles north of Waco and just off Interstate 35.
KWTX.com reported one of the nearby buildings damaged was a nursing home, and state troopers transported some of the injured to hospitals in patrol cars.
It also said the explosion knocked out electrical power to part of the community.
Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, was receiving some of the injured. Answering the phone at the hospital, Karen Jackson said she could provide no information on the number of injured or the extent.
Video Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ROrpKx3aIjA
Among the damaged buildings was the West Rest Haven Nursing Home, from which first-responders evacuated 133 patients, some in wheelchairs. “We did get there and got that taken care of,” Muska said.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/04/17/fertilizer-plant-explosion-reported-north-of-waco/
Right now currently 100 injuries; deaths they won’t say yet. They shut off all gas in town to prevent further explosion. Apartment 50 units, 133 in nursing home and all have been evacuated (Thank God). 50-75 homes destroyed. All this stated by sheriff. It is still smoldering so they are waiting it out let it burn out. Too dangerous to send firefighters in.
Reminds me of the PEPCON plant that blew in SoNv (Henderson) 3.5 on the Richter scale...
They were a little too close to the fire with tons of fertilizer at the plant.
I remember a firework going off close when I was 7 or 8 and I was deaf for a bit. That poor kid. Wow.
It was about 1/1000 of a small nuke for sure.
Prayers up.
Interesting physics there.. No time to react. Severe tinnitus, for sure.
The ship SS Grandcamp with2300 tons of 28% Ammonium Nitrate blew up on April 16, 1947 and leveled Texas City, TX.
Same stuff used at OK City with a diesel fuel enhancement.
Powerful stuff that is used all over the world for blasting operations.
That pic alone scared the carp outta me!
Sheriff is comparing it to Iraq and the Murray building.
As many have said, the father and daughter are parked at least 1/4 mile away and you can see the fire but really far off - then suddenly the explosion is so huge it rocks their vehicle - appears the Dad loses his grip on phone or video camera and you start hearing the little girl saying she can’t hear and begging over and over to her father to get them out of there. The camera is not focused or hanging down - I think the windshield may have blown out - but it is shocking the size of the blast knowing how far they were from the actual blast - I can now see why so many houses and apartments were destroyed - absolutely unreal
Sheriff says concentrating on people, not property. Not fighting fire. Too toxic of fumes. Authorities have Cleared 8-10 blocks due to fumes , but winds may shift and will have to clear the other side.
Also, 7 firefighters on scene during explosion.
If I was there knowing full well what was there, I would have backed off at least a full mile away from the plant. A withdrawal distance.
Potassium nitrate is used to make to fertilizers to also include old fashion gun powder and nitric acid and all other types of nitrate explosives like TNT.
No word from the Usurper? I guess he is really really pissed that his gun project did not pass.
The video at this link is complete. Don’t waste your time with the one CBS is running. They cut it real short and put it on continuous loop.
This is why some are worried about the Keystone XL Pipeline. Have you ever heard of the Kalamazoo River tar sands oil spill from 2010 which has cost $1 billion and still is not cleaned up? Dozens of families permanently lost their homes near the formerly lovely river.
The odds though are pretty low, especially with the amount of pipeline and the few incidents we’ve had. You can never be 100% safe and, in the case of Keystone, the more independent will probably be a safer bet than the miniscule risk like you mentioned.
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