West Fertilizer Co., West, TX Explosion-15 Dead, Over 200 Wounded

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Damage-In-Area-Closest-To-West-Explosion-Site-Is-Staggering-205799821.html
West Explosion Site Still A Crime Scene; Nothing Ruled Out, Investigators Say
May 2, 2013

WEST (May 2, 2013)—More than 70 state and federal investigators are conducting a painstaking excavation of the 15-acre site of the deadly West fertilizer plant explosion as they work their way toward the crater left by the last, officials said Thursday.

The site remains a crime scene and nothing has been ruled out officials said, as they opened the site Thursday to pool journalists who in turn provided images and information to other reporters.

“This is in no way been considered an accidental incident,” said Assistant State Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner.

“This is still being worked under a criminal warrant issued by the state courts, and until we have an answer, it will be considered a crime scene,” he said.
 ::snipping2::
Officials said earlier that 70 of the homes in the area north of Spring Street are unsafe to live in, although residents were allowed to enter to retrieve personal items, but 84 more are so badly damaged that residents wouldn’t even be allowed to do that.
In all, there are about 350 homes in the 37-block area of West affected by the massive fertilizer plant explosion.

Residents of the blast-affected area from Oak Street north to Spring Street have been allowed to return to their homes.

The Insurance Council of Texas, an insurance industry trade group, says losses from the deadly fertilizer plant explosion in West will likely exceed $100 million.

The explosion at West Fertilizer Co. left a crater 90 feet wide and totaled nearby homes and buildings, leaving 15 dead and about 200 injured.

It destroyed a two-story apartment building, and heavily damaged a nursing home and three of West’s four schools.
 ::snipping2::

In article, clickable: 
(West: Information For Residents, Numbers To Call, Ways To Help)
(West: More Headlines And Information)
(City Of West Website)
(Funerals And Memorial Services)


Inset in article, same link as article:
The West City Council Thursday designated a fund coordinated by three Waco-based charitable foundations as the recommended recipient for donations to relief efforts in the aftermath of the deadly April 17 explosion.

The West, Texas Disaster Relief Efforts Fund was established by the Cooper, Rapoport and Waco Foundations. To date the fund has received about $300,000.

Donations may be made in cash, by check or credit card or in publicly traded securities. Checks should be payable to Waco Foundation for the benefit of the West, Texas Disaster Relief Efforts Fund. Contributions may be designated for general assistance, firefighter relief or for victims directly affected by the explosion.

The Waco Foundation will cover all administrative costs.

For information on how to donate, go to http://www.wacofoundation.org and click on the West relief link on the homepage or call Melissa Miller at (254) 754-3404.

Also Thursday, McLennan County Emergency Coordinator Frank Patterson dismissed a report by a Dallas TV station that said the county does not have a Local Emergency Planning Committee or LEPC in place as required by federal law.

Patterson said the county's LEPC meets at least once a year, last met in February, has a thousand-page response plan and conducts at least three drills annually to test it.

Patterson said he couldn’t name the members of the committee, but said he had a list in his office.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/205908801.html
As West ISD Plans Recovery Effort, Teachers Brace For The Long Haul
May 2, 2013

 ::snipping2::
Since the West explosion, West ISD has lost three of its four campuses, students are displaced, and classrooms are bare.

Many teachers' homes are either damaged or destroyed.
More...

Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/texas/west-fertilizer-plant-targeted-by-thieves-in-past
West Fertilizer plant targeted by thieves in past
Deputies called more than 10 times in 11 years
May 3, 2013

WEST, Texas (AP) — Burglars occasionally sneaked into and around a Texas fertilizer plant in the years before a massive, deadly explosion — sometimes looking for a chemical fertilizer stored at the plant that can be used to make methamphetamine, according to local sheriff's records.

Sheriff's deputies were called more than 10 times to West Fertilizer in the 11 years before an April 17 blast that killed 14 people, injured 200 and leveled part of the tiny town of West, according to McLennan County sheriff's office files released through an open-records request. Multiple calls involved suspicion that anhydrous ammonia was being stolen.

The records portray a plant with no outer fence that was a sporadic target of intruders. Law enforcement was occasionally called because someone had noticed the smell of gas outside or signs of an intruder.

Anhydrous ammonia is a fertilizer that is a frequent target of burglars trying to manufacture methamphetamine. In the right conditions it can be flammable or explosive, though that is nearly impossible outdoors. However, a leak of the gas could create a potentially fatal toxic chemical cloud. The plant also had an unspecified amount of ammonium nitrate, a chemical that has been used in explosives, like in the Oklahoma City bombing.

A spokeswoman for the Texas State Fire Marshal's office, which is investigating the explosion, said the anhydrous ammonia tanks stored at West Fertilizer at the time of the blast appeared to have no scorch marks or any sign that they were part of a blast that left a crater more than 90 feet wide.

Officials have not ruled out the role of an intruder or other criminal activity being involved.  ::snipping2::
Matt Cawthon, the chief deputy sheriff in McLennan County, said in an interview Friday that anhydrous ammonia theft calls had declined in recent years, as had the number of meth labs authorities have busted as Mexican drug cartels are smuggling in more of the drug.

"The thefts ... and the reports for law enforcement assistance in that area, in my estimation, were minor and were petty," Cawthon said.

There were no reports that ammonium nitrate had been stolen from the plant, Cawthon said.

"If ammonium nitrate had been stolen ... then that report would have generated probably a lot of attention," he said.

Federal regulation of ammonium nitrate is largely focused on the safe storage of the chemical, for fear it will fall into the hands of criminals or terrorists. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is responsible for oversight of the potentially explosive substance.

At the West facility, criminals appeared to be interested in the ammonia.

A West police officer in 2002 pulled over someone driving through West Fertilizer with his vehicle's headlights off, according to a sheriff's crime report. The police officer reported that "there have been numerous thefts of anhydrous ammonia" from the plant, the report says. But that driver was found to have taken a hydraulic hay spear.

That same year, a plant employee told authorities that someone was stealing 4 to 5 gallons of anhydrous ammonia about every three days, according to another report. Sheriff's office records released Friday did not indicate that authorities were being called that often.

In more recent calls, an employee had noticed signs that someone had gone through the office without taking anything. In one 2009 record, someone reported that the TV in the office was left on a Spanish-language channel. The year before, an intruder appeared to have viewed pornography on a secretary's computer.

In another 2009 record, Cody Dragoo — a plant employee and first responder who died fighting the fire — called authorities to report two men who were seen on the plant's security tape entering part of the facility. The only things found missing were a cabinet lock and a box of Oreo cookies, according to a report. It's unclear if the men were identified or arrested.
 ::snipping2::

West Fertilizer did not have a fence or security guards, and just one security camera was installed, Cawthon said. Besides the costs of adding security, the plant was often visited after hours by farmers needing fertilizer.

"If the owner was to spend that money to make this a fortress, it would decrease his business because the farmers can't come and go," Cawthon said.

Daniel Keeney, a spokesman for Adair Grain, which owned and operated the plant, declined to answer questions about plant security to avoid "misunderstandings or confusions."

Last month's explosion occurred during the spring planting season, when the plant was especially busy, officials in the investigation have said. Two months before the explosion, plant officials reported they could store as much as 270 tons of ammonium nitrate.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/Some-West-residents-unaware-of-feritilizer-plants-potential-danger-206032811.html
Some West residents unaware of feritilizer facility's potential danger
May 3, 2013

WEST, Texas -- After the fertilizer chemical facility explosion, Willie Zahirniak said the response from West officials and McLennan County has been tremendous.

"Everyone has really pitched in," he said.

But it is what happened in the days and weeks before the blast at the plant that have him concerned.

"I've never knew what was stored there, and I've lived here all my life," Zahirniak said. "Let's put it like that."

News 8 is raising more questions about just who was responsible for warning town residents about the potential hazards of living so close to a plant that stored high-powered chemicals, like ammonium nitrate.
 ::snipping2::
Earlier in the week, the area's state representative, Republican Kyle Kacal, said he believed people living in West were aware of the danger.

"Rural Texas and the agriculture folks understand the volatility of that plant, yes they do," he said.

But News 8 found other residents, just like Zahirniak, that weren't told about just how severe an explosion really could be.

"It wasn't something anyone discussed or worried about," said Mike Sulak, who also lost a family home because of the blast. "Never entered anyone's mind."
 ::snipping2::
A series of News 8 Investigations have also been looking into whether the county was properly running a Local Emergency Planning Committee, or LEPC. That is mandated by federal law.
Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/texas/west-plant-carries-limited-insurance
West plant carries limited insurance
Lawyers suing plant were told of policy
May 4, 2013



DALLAS (AP) - A lawyer says that the Texas fertilizer plant that exploded last month, killing 14 people, injuring more than 200 others and damaging or destroying property for blocks in every direction was only insured for up to $1 million in liability.

Tyler lawyer Rancy C. Roberts said Saturday that he and other attorneys who have filed lawsuits against West Fertilizer's owners were told Thursday about the size of its policy.

An insurance industry group estimates that it may have caused up to $100 million in damage.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Fertilizer-Plant-Explosion-Leaves-Farmers-In-The-Lurch-206039911.html
Fertilizer Plant Explosion Leaves Farmers In The Lurch
May 3, 2013

WEST (May 3, 2013)--The deadly April 17 explosion at West Fertilizer Co. that killed 15, injured about 200 and damaged or destroyed scores of homes and buildings, also destroyed tons of fertilizer that area farmers were counting on to make their crops this summer.

Now producers in McLennan County and several surrounding counties have to look to other suppliers to provide the products they need to ensure both a bountiful harvest and their own livelihoods.

"There's a void there, a big void," said Norman Divin, at Crop Production Services, in Hillsboro, a national company with several outlets in Texas.

"Believe me, it’s going to be hard to fill," Divin said.
 
West Fertilizer was the area's major purveyor of agricultural products such as anhydrous ammonia and dry nitrogen fertilizers.

Testimony offered Tuesday at a Texas House of Representatives hearing into the disaster indicated at the time of the deadly fire and explosion, West Fertilizer had more than 230 tons of fertilizer in storage.

Although the cause of the devastating fire and explosion on April 17 has yet to be determined, the blast destroyed several tons of fertilizer that farmers were counting on to boost their crops this spring and summer.

Divin said his company already has seen several producers who are looking for fertilizer of one type or another and he's trying to serve them.

But CPS in Hillsboro is not a "dry barn," he said.

A report filed with the state agency that tracks stores of dry fertilizer such as ammonium nitrate indicates there were 44 businesses in Texas that reported having more than 10,000 pounds of the chemical in their storage barns.

That means his company does not handle large amounts of dry nitrogen fertilizer like West Fertilizer did.

Those farmers and ranchers who are looking for dry fertilizer products will have to find other sources of those products and the farther the growers have to travel to get the products they need, the higher the cost of production.

Right now farmers and ranchers are fertilizing pastures and fields of hay, Divin said, but the need for fertilizer is a year-round need.
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Disaster-Recovery-Center-Opens-Saturday-In-West-206042341.html
Disaster Recovery Center Opens Saturday In West
May 4, 2013

WEST (May 4, 2013)—A Disaster Recovery Center opens Saturday in West for residents including homeowners, renters and business owners affected by the deadly April 17 explosion at West Fertilizer Co. that killed 15 and left about 200 injured.

The center will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. daily at POINTWEST Bank at 201 North Roberts Rd. in West.

Specialists from the state, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration will staff the center to answer residents’ questions and to provide information about the kinds of assistance that are available.

“The recovery center will serve as a one-stop shop for folks who need one-on-one assistance,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Kevin L. Hannes.

“State and federal professionals will be available to help eligible survivors get help as quickly as possible.”

The original federal emergency declaration was amended to extend assistance to individuals and affected residents can register online, selecting the “EXPLOSION” option and then the “fire/smoke/soot/ash” option, FEMA said.
Register Online: 
http://www.disasterassistance.gov/

More...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/texas/fema-transitional-sheltering-in-west
FEMA transitional sheltering in West
Shelter for residents of West
May 5, 2013

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has activated a plan to provide transitional shelter for residents of West whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged by last month's fertilizer plant explosion.

The plan allows affected residents to stay in motels for a limited amount of time at FEMA's expense.
 
The initial period of assistance will last through May 18.

Coordinating officer Kevin L Hannes says FEMA is working closely with state and local officials "to develop a long-term housing solution to help West residents until their homes are repaired or rebuilt."

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Officials-Ammonium-nitrate-led-to-West-blast-4492945.php
Officials: Ammonium nitrate led to West blast
May 6, 2013

A stockpile of ammonium nitrate at a fertilizer plant in West was the source of a deadly April 17 explosion, investigators said Monday.

The cause of the fire that preceded the explosion, however, remains undetermined.

Rachel Moreno, a spokeswoman for the State Fire Marshal's Office, confirmed that ammonium nitrate was stored in bins at the blast point, in a building that also included an office.

“We know (the fire) started in that building,” Moreno said, “but not in the bin.”

The explosion killed 15 people, mostly firefighters and others who rushed to contain the fire and evacuate nearby residents. Officials have focused on a 93-foot-wide crater at the site of the explosion. The fire also broke out in that vicinity.

 

Fire alone cannot cause ammonium nitrate, a chemical commonly used to make fertilizer, to explode. The investigation continues into which other factors, such as intense pressure or extreme heat, may have contributed.

“There are four things that can make it explode,” Moreno said. “We don't know if three of them were present, four of them present.”

The fertilizer company notified state health officials it was capable of storing up to 270 tons of ammonium nitrate, though the exact amount of the chemical on site at the time of the blast was unknown. The amount the plant reported was more than virtually any similar business in Texas.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Fest-for-West-in-Bryan-Raises-20000-206334551.html
Fest for West in Bryan Raises $20,000+
May 6, 2013

 
In less than two weeks, the Downtown Bryan Association helped organize the "Fest for West" event on Main Street.

According to organizers, $20,495 were raised through the event, which featured 16 musical acts at the Palace Theater and the Grand Stafford Theater. Brandon Rhyder headlined the show.

A silent auction was held, and t-shirts and barbecue were sold, with all the proceeds going towards the victims of the West Fertilizer Plant explosion last month.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/news/No-room-for-West-volunteer-firefighters-on-Austin-monument-206362011.html
No room on Texas monument for volunteer firefighters killed in West
May 6, 2013

AUSTIN -- A temporary stone with seven names etched onto it lays in the shadow of the second-oldest memorial on the Texas Capitol grounds. The temporary stone is necessary, because 117 years after the monument was built; it has run out of room for more names.
 
Technically, the monument has been full since 2011, but now there is an immediate effort to build a permanent addition to the 50-foot tall memorial
 
The new memorial will be a wall of granite surrounding the existing statue, with enough room to honor fallen volunteer firefighters for years to come.
“These firefighters do this for no pay, they do it out of the gratification of their heart to give back to their community and we figured the least we can do is honor them by putting their names on the memorial."
Barron tells KVUE they need donations to make the permanent memorial possible. It will cost an estimated $100,000 and they hope to get enough money to begin work immediately.
If you would like to make a donation, click here to make it online, or please send your check payable to “SFFMA Monument Expansion,” 4450 Frontier Trail, Austin, TX 78745.

https://www.texasfirefightermemorial.org/

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/texas/investigation-retraces-lines-of-plant-blast
Investigation retraces lines of plant blast
Examiners work to reconstruct scene before blast
May 7, 2013


A blast crater sits in the remains of a fertilizer plant destroyed by an explosion in West, Texas, Thursday, April 18, 2013. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

WEST, Texas (AP) — Almost a month into their review of the deadly blast at a Texas fertilizer plant, investigators are hoping to draw a picture from the air of how the plant looked before the explosion and compare it to the 93-foot-wide crater that's there now.

They'll paint and mark off lines for the walls of each building at West Fertilizer, where an April 17 explosion killed at least 14 people. Then, they'll fly overhead to compare the lines to the crater.

That process will occur as investigators try to reconstruct whatever they can of the plant — from electrical wires to pieces of walls — in hopes of nailing down how ammonium nitrate detonated in a blast that sent debris flying through ceilings blocks away and registered as a small earthquake.

Their work has taken longer than expected, causing some frustration as people continue to wait for answers. After saying they might finish this week, officials now say they'll need more time and are asking for patience.

"We're not going to leave anything unturned on the scene, and there just happened to be more that needed to be turned," assistant state fire marshal Kelly Kistner said. "That's all there is to it."
 
"We're not talking about a 100 percent reconstruction. You can't do that, especially at this site. That's not going to happen," said Brian Hoback, a national response team supervisor for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "But what you try to do is you try to reconstruct those things that are important to you in terms of origin and cause."

While the fire marshal's office said this week that stores of ammonium nitrate exploded, officials said they still didn't know what caused it to detonate or what caused the fire beforehand. The explosion occurred about 20 minutes after authorities were alerted to the fire.

Kistner laid out four possible factors, any one of which could have caused the ammonium nitrate to explode: heat, possibly from the fire; a physical shock to the chemical; an issue with how it was contained or stored; and contamination.

"So at this point, we all know we had a fire and we had heat, right?" Kistner said. "If we look at the shock, the containment and the contamination, those are things we're still looking at and still investigating."

Officials still are investigating how much ammonium nitrate was on site and whether any other chemicals were involved.

The large crater left in the blast has been mapped, excavated with heavy equipment and raked through by investigators, Hoback said. It could provide clues to how much ammonium nitrate was on site and other details of the blast, officials have said.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/news/Investigation-retraces-lines-of-Texas-plant-blast-206524721.html
Investigation retraces lines of Texas plant blast
May 7, 2013

 
Officials have pushed back an initial date of May 10 for findings after determining they had more work left to do than originally thought.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/05/10/us/damage-from-west-texas-explosion.html
A Neighborhood Nearly Obliterated by a Blast
An April 17 fertilizer plant explosion in West, Tex., leveled hundreds of homes and buildings. Days later, town officials inspected the structures and placed colored tags on them based on the extent of damage
May 9, 2013

(See satellite image)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/news/West-EMS-worker-arrested-for-possessing-destructive-device-206913451.html
West EMS worker charged with possession of destructive device
MAY 10, 2013



WEST, Texas -- Bryce Reed, a volunteer EMS worker who talked with the media during the aftermath of the West explosion, was detained and faces a charge of possessing a destructive device.
KHOU reports that his arrest has not been confirmed to be related to the plant explosion on April 17, which killed 14 people and injured 200.
Reed served as a volunteer EMS worker for West and was placed on leave after the explosion. He was arrested the morning of May 9 and is being held at the McLennan County Jail.
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/former-ems-volunteer-arrested-on-possession-of-destructive-device-charge-firefighter-explosion-206912431.html
EMS volunteer arrested on possession of destructive device charge
May 10, 2013


EMS volunteer Bryce Reed gives a video eulogy for Cyrus Reed, one of the firefighters killed in the West blast. Bryce Reed was arrested on May 10, 2013 for possession of an explosive device.

WEST –– Bryce Reed, a volunteer EMS worker who frequently spoke with the media during the aftermath of the West explosion, was detained and faces a charge of possession of a destructive device.
Reed, who served as a volunteer EMS worker for West, was arrested Thursday morning and is being held at the McLennan County Jail.
Sources familiar with the case said Reed, 31, was in possession of possible bomb making materials. He is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge Friday morning in Waco.
At this point, agents have not connected the arrest to April 17 West Fertilizer Co. explosion that killed 15, including 12 first responders.
During the April 25 memorial in Waco, Reed gave a previously recorded eulogy for Cyrus Reed, his best friend who was killed battling the blaze.
 
In a statement released Friday morning, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced the McLellan County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Rangers have launched a criminal investigation into the explosion.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/10/us/after-plant-explosion-texas-remains-wary-of-regulation.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
After Plant Explosion, Texas Remains Wary of Regulation
May 9, 2013

Comments

[MuffyBee]

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/media_and_communications/pr051013.htm

News Release

May 10, 2013
McLennan County Sheriff and Texas Rangers to Launch Criminal Investigation into West Plant Explosion

Officials continue to assist community in recovery effort
AUSTIN – Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Steven McCraw today directed the Texas Rangers to join McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara in launching a criminal investigation into the fertilizer plant explosion that occurred in West, Texas, on April 17.

“This disaster has severely impacted the community of West, and we want to ensure that no stone goes unturned and that all the facts related to this incident are uncovered,” said Director McCraw.

“The citizens of McLennan County and Texas must have confidence that this incident has been looked at from every angle and professionally handled – they deserve nothing less,” said Sheriff McNamara.

No further information regarding this ongoing investigation will be released at this time.

Three weeks after the disaster in West, DPS Division of Emergency Management officials also continue to work with local, state and federal partners to assess the damages and facilitate recovery assistance to the victims in the community.

For more information about disaster assistance, visit: http://www.disasterassistance.gov/

### (HQ 2013-55)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/10/justice/texas-explosion-probe/index.html
Criminal probe started in Texas fertilizer plant blast
May 10, 2013

(CNN) -- Texas authorities are launching a criminal investigation into last month's deadly fertilizer distribution facility explosion in West, Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Friday.
The announcement was made on the same day authorities arrested Bryce Reed, a West emergency volunteer who was a first-responder to the disaster.
Authorities have not tied the arrest to the deadly blast.
McLennan County sheriff's records clerk Betty Duncan told CNN that Reed was arrested for possession of a destructive device, booked early Friday, and is in the custody of U.S. Marshals.
Reed spoke at a memorial for the victims at Baylor University.
More...

Video at link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/10/west-texas-explosion/2150461/
Paramedic from Texas plant blast arrested
May 10, 2013

A volunteer paramedic who was one of the first on the scene of a fire and massive explosion last month at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, was arrested early Friday and charged with possession of a destructive device, The Dallas Morning News reported.
 

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/texas/article/Texas-launches-criminal-probe-into-plant-explosion-4506052.php
Texas launches criminal probe into plant explosion
May 10, 2013
WACO, Texas (AP) — Texas law enforcement officials on Friday launched a criminal investigation into the massive fertilizer plant explosion that killed 14 people last month, after weeks of largely treating the blast as an industrial accident.

The announcement came the same day a paramedic who helped to evacuate residents the night of the explosion was arrested on a charge of possessing a destructive device, though it is not clear whether the charge is related to the April 17 blast at West Fertilizer Co.
 

http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/powerful-exploson-rocks-town-north-of-waco-203508001.html
Search for trapped continues; reports of looting after West explosion
Posted April 17, 2013, Updated April 18, 2013

 
The initial fire call at the fertilizer plant was logged at 7:29 p.m. Twenty-four minutes later -- as firefighters, police and paramedics were evacuating nearby residents -- there was a devastating explosion.
 

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/texas/lawsuits-filed-against-west-fertilizer
Lawsuits filed against West Fertilizer
Officials say rail car not cause of deadly blast
April 23, 2013

No cause for the blast that started with a fire at the plant on Wednesday night has been identified. Kelly Kisner of the State Fire Marshal's Office said Tuesday  that a rail car near the blast site was not the cause. More likely, the fire and explosion were sparked by someone who was killed at the scene.
 
http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/West-explosion-tapes-tell-critical-story-of-hidden-danger-204387861.html
Recordings tell critical story of hidden danger at fertilizer plant
April 23, 2013