WEST, TX (KXXV) — On April 17, 2013, a fertilizer plant in West, TX exploded, killing 15 people and injuring many others. Former Mayor of West, Tommy Muska, talks about his experience during the tragedy that changed the community forever.
- The fire started inside the West Fertilizer Company, where 30 tons of ammonium nitrate ignited. The explosion occurred approximately 20 minutes after first responders arrived to extinguish a fire at the plant. The explosion had the force of 7.5-10 tons of TNT.
- 15 people were killed and dozens more were injured.
- Seismic stations registered the explosion as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The fire started inside the West Fertilizer Company, where 30 tons of ammonium nitrate ignited. The explosion occurred approximately 20 minutes after first responders arrived to extinguish a fire at the plant. The explosion had the force of 7.5-10 tons of TNT.
Former mayor Tommy Muska shared with reporter Heather Healy what he remembers from that day.
“My experience was I saw the smoke and I went to the school and I started towards the fertilizer plant on foot and I got about halfway, about a block and a half away, and that's when it blew up, and so it was a devastating, devastating memory,” Muska said.
Seismic stations registered the explosion as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake, leaving very little behind. Nearly 400 crews from across the state came to lend a helping hand. Former Mayor Tommy Muska of West discussed the state’s emergency efforts to help the city navigate this tragedy.
“We utilized a lot of them," Muska said. "We utilize some for fire mitigation. We had three fires going at the time. We had to evacuate the northern part of town, and we had search and rescue looking through each building to see if anyone was trapped or injured."
