West, Texas Fertilizer Plant tragedy

[IrishLake]

Holy shit. I belong to a firefighter wives forum/group. There is a wife whose husband was at this and she does not know his status at this time.

Two too many tragedies in a short few days. CNN is only reporting 2 fatalities right now, and over 60 at area hospitals. By tomorrow morning, the numbers are going to be much higher.


I spent today in OSHA training going over real life scenarios like this. This one will be a training scenario in a few years.

If there are multiple firefighter fatalities, I have a feeling my husband will want to go to the funerals. His Captain goes to these around the country and has mentioned him going along before.

He's working tonight. I hope he's asleep and they have a quiet night in Columbus.

[Old_Row]

This is so terrible. So many tragedies. It makes me so sad. I don't know what else to say right now.

[tinydancer]

This is just awful. I've been glued to the news for a while now. That Sonic they have been showing is next to a bakery that is a favorite stop of mine in West.

[pinapple]

I was driving from Dallas to Austin last night and was of course on 35 and went through the section of 35 that West runs along. Traffic was really backed up and many ambulances, first responders and television crews were coming from all over north Texas that way. It was around 8:45 PM (an hour past the blast) What really was remarkable was the ambulance traffic between West and Waco. Most of my time was spend driving on the shoulder so ambulances could get by. There was even a time that a police car came up behind me and I moved over and he was escorting a school bus that was filled with about 10-15 people, patients and first responders working on those patients, headed to Waco.

Because the fire started first, firefighters responded to that as they always bravely do, when that explosion happened, they were directly in harms way. Media in Austin is reporting that many were volunteer FFs and the reality is they just are not sure who was there at the time. Whoever was there more than likely died but the bottom line was they just don't know who all was at the scene.

[navane]

Originally Posted by IrishLake

Holy shit. I belong to a firefighter wives forum/group. There is a wife whose husband was at this and she does not know his status at this time.

Irish,

If her husband was on the first due engine, I fear that the news will be bad. I don't see how any of them would have survived that blast unless they had staged the engine far enough back.

The California firefighting community is praying for our brothers and sisters.


.....Kelly

[tinydancer]

I've heard that my friends in West are ok, so I am thankful for that. I can't imagine going through something like this.

[IrishLake]

Originally Posted by navane

Irish,

If her husband was on the first due engine, I fear that the news will be bad. I don't see how any of them would have survived that blast unless they had staged the engine far enough back.

The California firefighting community is praying for our brothers and sisters.


.....Kelly

Said husband is ok. She didnt hear from him until very late, but someone heard his voice over the radio and passed that news along to her. Looks like FF fatalities will be in the double digits.

My husband did indeed have a fully involved fire early this morning. I'm happy he was driving and therefore on the pump. Normally I don't care one way or the other because he loves his job and is very good at it, but.... last night was bad.

[navane]

Originally Posted by IrishLake

Said husband is ok. She didnt hear from him until very late, but someone heard his voice over the radio and passed that news along to her. Looks like FF fatalities will be in the double digits.

I am very glad to hear that her husband turned up safe! Of course, also sad to know that there are others who didn't make it.

My husband did indeed have a fully involved fire early this morning. I'm happy he was driving and therefore on the pump. Normally I don't care one way or the other because he loves his job and is very good at it, but.... last night was bad.

Well, being at the pump panel is safer than making entry; but, probably less fun for him. Though, given the circumstances, I can imagine that you're feeling a little more "worried" than usual when he's on shift.


.....Kelly

[SUZTA83]

My husband is a funeral director just up the road from West. He said that the owner of the West Funeral Home is a volunteer FF and is in the hospital w/ injuries. Several of the funeral directors from around the area have stepped up to assist at the funeral home in West while he is recovering. This has been such a long week for America, but it's uplifting to know that there are still good people who care about each other out there.

[tinydancer]

Just heard the sad news that the cousin of one of my Eastern Star sisters lost his life in the West explosion. He was one of the first firefighters on the scene. Prayers to her family.