Fertilizer plant near Waco TX, explodes. Get JMC there, stat.

[Mellema]

Err...For those few in here that seem to have trouble reading a map, Waco is between Dallas and Austin. That is only a hundred miles or so EAST of what would be considered the eastern edge of West Texas. This area is pretty populated and looking at the maps makes me wtf at the proximity of this plant to the populated areas.

And for those who have trouble reading, the explosion took place in the town of West, which is 20 miles north of Waco.

[Aurara]

There was an explosion at a chevron plan in Point Richmond when I was in 2nd grade(I went to an after school program down the street)...but holy shit nothing like this. All I can hear is the kid saying "i can't hear" over and over..

[Cail]

Are multiple firefighters still unaccounted for after this explosion?

Last I saw, 5 FF LODD, 1 police officer, and a couple EMS

[Cail]

The info I have through FD stuff:

We are going to do our best to pass on information that comes from fire & EMS personnel in Texas. Right now, based upon reliable sources, the explosion at the fertilizer plant in West killed up to 15 people. We have also been advised that Fire & EMS LODD's may be up to 7-with some unaccounted for-according to local officials. There are over 100 people in area hospitals-with 9 sent to the burn center in Dallas.This morning, various fire service folks are arriving from the Texas Fire Chiefs, the NFFF and others to assist. Mutual aid Firefighters and EMS personnel have been working through the night and as of this morning, according to an area Fire Chief-this is still a rescue operation.

The town's volunteer Firefighters responded to a call at the plant around 1800 hours. Mayor Tommy Muska was among them, and he and the other Firefighters were working to evacuate the area around the plant when the blast followed about 50 minutes later. Mayor Muska told the media it knocked off his fire helmet and blew out the doors and windows of his home.

The blast shook houses 50 miles away and measured as a 2.1-magnitude seismic event, according to the United States Geological Survey. The West Fertilizer Company said it had 54,000 pounds of the chemical. We will pass on details from Texas and National fire service personnel when it becomes available. Keep'm all in your prayers.

[Cail]

And then another fire source I just read said its up to 6 firefighters, 1 cop, and 2 ems dead

[arus2001]

Has it been confirmed if the guy who filmed the explosion was fine or not? I mean, if the blast was strong enough to shatter some glass up to 20 miles away, and he was at most 1 mile or less from the fire of where he thought he would be safe, but that backfired quick.

In general, I want to say car windshields are made of sturdier glass than most building windows simply because they need to withstand shit like pebbles being flicked at them at 60+ MPH. Side windows are more fragile, but I'm not sure if having them rolled down any reduces the risk of breakage from a shockwave or not. As is, the fact the video was up and about already, I'm guessing they're fine aside from maybe some fuzzy hearing.

[Byrd]

Every 20 years or so a building full of bullshit needs to die in a fire in Waco, amirite?

Looks like it was twenty-eight hours shy of being 20 years to the day. That's quite a coincidence.

Happy 20th anniversary of the end of the Waco siege, everyone. Didn't know it was today. Do now.

EDIT: I'm an idiot. That's tomorrow. Still...

[Callisto]

In general, I want to say car windshields are made of sturdier glass than most building windows simply because they need to withstand shit like pebbles being flicked at them at 60+ MPH. Side windows are more fragile, but I'm not sure if having them rolled down any reduces the risk of breakage from a shockwave or not. As is, the fact the video was up and about already, I'm guessing they're fine aside from maybe some fuzzy hearing.

Yeah windshields are sturdier and there's a layer of plastic inside them so they crack across the surface rather than shatter. I would think the door frame would provide some insulation from breakage for the side windows, but at the least it'd break inside the frame of door.

[The Stig]

Thank you for explaining.

And yeh fair point about the video circulating, I guess I assumed someone recovered the phone and shared it instead.

[Churchill]

Okay what the fuck. I just watched the video in the OP now...who the fuck sits that close to an AN factory and records it while it's on fire? I'm assuming they started evacuating people, but that is not somewhere I would be near AND he had his kids in the fucking car, what the fuck.

We don't even stand that close to 500 lbs bombs without being behind cover and that's a fucking factory. What the fuck.

[Kuya]

Well, it's Texas, church.

[arus2001]

They do everything big there, including stupid things.

[Moss]

Okay what the fuck. I just watched the video in the OP now...who the fuck sits that close to an AN factory and records it while it's on fire? I'm assuming they started evacuating people, but that is not somewhere I would be near AND he had his kids in the fucking car, what the fuck.

We don't even stand that close to 500 lbs bombs without being behind cover and that's a fucking factory. What the fuck.

hence the 5th post in the thread. they almost got Darwin'd

[Helm]

At least the kid learns the valuable lesson that their father is an idiot.

[Ksandra]

Have they given any details as to the cause yet?

[Brill Weave]

Have they given any details as to the cause yet?

My guess would be fire.

[Ksandra]

My guess would be fire.

I meant like accidental or intentional

[Brill Weave]

I meant like accidental or intentional

Fire has no emotion therefore we can't answer that.

[Callisto]

I meant like accidental or intentional

at the moment it's been described as an industrial accident

[Ksandra]

Fire has no emotion therefore we can't answer that.

I hate you lol