2013 Fertilizer Plant Explosion - West, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 31° 49.060 W 097° 05.312
14R E 680919 N 3521816
The memorial is about 100 yards away from where the fertilizer plant once stood and has a fountain surrounded by 15 plaques — one for each person who died.
Waymark Code: WM10X48
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/04/2019
Views: 2
12 first responders and three other community members died when the fertilizer plant caught fire and exploded. The memorial features a stone wall near the entrance. The black marble wall has a narrative outlining the events of the night of the explosion on the left end. In the center is a picture of the plant fire. On the right is the Fireman's Prayer and the EMT's Prayer. Past the wall is a circle with a fountain in the center. In a circle around the fountain are 15 markers with picture of those who died and a snippet of information about their lives.
KWTX
"The fire at the fertilizer plant started at 7:29 p.m. on April 17, 2013.
West firefighters were dispatched to the plant at 7:32 p.m., arrived at 7:38 p.m. and requested assistance from other departments at 7:41 p.m.
The plant exploded at 7:51 p.m.
As much as 64 tons of ammonium nitrate was stored in the building, 28 to 34 tons of which exploded.
An additional 20 to 30 tons in the building and another 100 tons in a nearby railcar did not explode.
The blast affected a 37-block area and left a crater 90 feet wide and 12 feet deep.
It damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and buildings including a nursing home, a two-story apartment building and three of West’s schools."