Massive explosion near Waco, TX

[Burgundy Burner]

http://news.yahoo.com/police-report-fertilizer-plant-explosion-near-waco-texas-015859240.html

Many buildings leveled, including a nursing home. This is not good.

 

[Win4us]

Holy cow!! Thoughts and prayers to Waco.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROrpKx3aIjA[/media]

 

[Burgundy Burner]

An apt. building near the blast.

 

[Fear The Spear]

What are they suspecting as the cause - or what does it appear so far ? Accident or crime ?

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Probably an accident. Mix an accidental fire with fertilizer in a concentrated area and you will get a massive explosion.

CBS affiliate in DFW says at least 60 were killed.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Here are some pics and videos.

http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/plant-explosion-waco-texas-photo-024553039.html

 

[Miles Monroe]

I know this may sound weird, but they may have gotten lucky with the explosion. Watching the news this morning, one first responder mentioned anhydrous explosion. Looking at the video, there was a BLEVE from what I saw. Anhydrous ammonia is used in the manufacture of fertilizer, and is a liquid gas.

BLEVE... A term known to members of the fire service.
Boiling Liquid Evaporating Vapor Explosion


Anhydrous ammonia is a deadly gas. By the time your brain registers you're smelling something, you're done. A large leak could kill hundreds depending on the weather and wind.

Thoughts and prayers to those effected.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

News this morning said 5-15 fatalities, but that number is expected to grow. Still better than the 60-70 they were talking about yesterday.

Good to hear they had to turn volunteers away because they had too many; way to go, Texas. Neo is pretty close to this blast, hope nobody he knows was affected (or him, but I'm fairly certain he was far enough away to not even notice).

 

[HOF44]

My thoughts go out too all those affected. I have to ask though as I deal sometimes with zoning matters and permits and such. How did a neighborhood get built so close around an industrial site with such huge capacity for destruction, or vice versa as I don't know which was there first.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

My thoughts go out too all those affected. I have to ask though as I deal sometimes with zoning matters and permits and such. How did a neighborhood get built so close around an industrial site with such huge capacity for destruction, or vice versa as I don't know which was there first.

Texas doesn't have traditional zoning laws, as far as I know. You see it all the time around here - maybe not to this extreme, but there really aren't any kind of "zones" - maybe something like this will change the laws.

 

[HOF44]

Texas doesn't have traditional zoning laws, as far as I know. You see it all the time around here - maybe not to this extreme, but there really aren't any kind of "zones" - maybe something like this will change the laws.

Interesting I didn't know that. Around hear you can't fart without a permit.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Around hear you can't fart without a permit.

Sounds like an excellent act of "job creation"

 

[tshile]

for future reference, please do not hang out around an industrial plant caught on fire
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROrpKx3aIjA[/media]

in fact, you're best off just not being close to any type of building on fire. you have no idea what will happen next. even if it's not dangerous you may wind up in the way of emergency vehicles or something.

houses in the middle of Fairfax (a northern VA suburb) have blown up because they caught on fire and dude that owned the house was repacking his own ammo in the basement, which had loads of gun powder.

if you're not trained in the situation you just have to get away before you become part of the disaster

 

[Miles Monroe]

for future reference, please do not hang out around an industrial plant caught on fire
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROrpKx3aIjA[/media]

in fact, you're best off just not being close to any type of building on fire. you have no idea what will happen next. even if it's not dangerous you may wind up in the way of emergency vehicles or something.

houses in the middle of Fairfax (a northern VA suburb) have blown up because they caught on fire and dude that owned the house was repacking his own ammo in the basement, which had loads of gun powder.

if you're not trained in the situation you just have to get away before you become part of the disaster

Good advice, and something else to remember.... more of our country is protected by volunteer firefighters that paid departments. Support them whenever you can.

 

[RG3 Fan]

Cousin was almost in the middle of it

She at the last minute decided to feed her track team before returning to West High School. If she had not done that she would have arrived right when the explosion occurred.

The fertilizer plant was built along the railroad tracks in the center of town. It was built in the late 50's. back then no one had zoning laws in small Texas town. Many still don't. Houston doesn't have much of one compared to Austin, Dallas or San Antonio.