major explosion reported at fertilizer plant near Waco, TX

From this distance it looks like a 100 ton TNT explosion, horrific.

www.youtube.com... 100 ton TNT blast.

I hope those events in Boston, the Ricin letters and this aren't connected. If they actually are, th US could deal with an underground militia terror thread. Maybe highly trained veterans, who are disappointed with their government.

Sad and crazy week for the USA, keep your heads up guys and DON'T PANIC.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe


Me too Kangaruex4Ewe, me too.

News conference being taken now. (Im watching the local Fox 4 news)

reply to post by goou111



I guess he was directing that at me.


@MystikMushroom Why do you have to be so combative? If you read above the image you can see all of us talking about the flash that came from the left side of the fire before the large explosion.

I was just pointing this out in three images taken out of the video instead of just the one previously posted to provide better clarity of the event.

and gou was doing me a favor by embedding it in thread instead of an external image link that I had posted.

Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center expecting at least 14 more casualties from fertilizer plant explosion

Originally posted by buni11687
News conference being taken now. (Im watching the local Fox 4 news)

Thanks KXXV! LOL

My cable keeps cutting in and out... ugh. so hard to keep up. Sorry gang

Originally posted by starshift

Originally posted by Anishnaabe
reply to post by Ormuz

 

My guess on why it blew from the left is those metal tanks (upper two in pic) contained the main explosive element and with the wind blowing the flames towards those tanks, it ignited.

Exactly what I was thinking when I watched the slowed down version. If you notice, you will see a white "plume", for lack of a better word, come out and up, towards the flames, before the flash and the explosion. To me, that looks like one of the tanks sprang a leak, and then caught fire.

Remember, alot of the stuff that is in the tanks would be under certain pressure, due to how it is meant to be stored, and once a leak happens, it expands exponentially. Like with LPG, if there is a leak in the tank, once it hits air, it expands 1000 times, hence why when there is an accident, the explosion is so big.

So go back and look at the frames slowly, and you will see a white substance come out from the bottom left of the frame, and expand, then catch fire/explode.

That's 1 possible answer.

Edit:- LPG expands 200 times when hitting air under pressure, not 1000 times. Would just like to add that, cause I was wrong originally.

Sgt Patrick Swanton is the person giving the statement.

What he's saying : Still people being pulled from rubble. Massive destruction. People are still being evacuated. No idea on the death and injury toll. Most of the fires have been put out by now, but some still burn. Also, evacuations from surrounding area began before the explosion because the fire department noticed the chemicals in the air.

ETA- He is saying there are definantly deaths, but has no idea how many.


ETA 2 - Also, no idea what caused the initial fire yet.


another ETA (prolly going to be some more of these ETAs) - In regards to weather and chemicals, he's basically saying they're not sure what later today will bring. They're still not sure how massive the destruction of the explosion is yet.


A few other things he said : The original fire started at 6pm (not sure if he was referring to Eastern or Central time). They're not letting people into the area still



Also : not much more info on the missing LEO and Firefighters

All that moo'ing ya'll here.. I am pretty sure they are at the West Cattle Auction house. It is on the Southbound side of I-35

reply to post by buni11687


Buni, Texas is CST, so that was 6pm our local time.

I just woke up to this being reported on the news here in the UK.
So very sad, and my heart goes out to all the people affected by this, no matter how it happened, by whatever means, its simply tragic and i feel so bad for everyone.
What a mad week, lets hope things calm down soon.

Originally posted by Kuroodo

Isn't that an explosion at a chemical plant several years ago?

Edit:

Yes it is:




www.youtube.com...

reply to post by TerribleTeam2


Here is a shot before the tank blew... looks like it was under tremendous heat. Sorry bout the blurry image, it was a tiny pic to begin with.

Originally posted by Justaposter
reply to post by buni11687

 

Buni, Texas is CST, so that was 6pm our local time.

True, but I originally heard the fire occured at 7pm, and now the Sgt said 6pm. Since he didnt mention CST or ET, I thought I would put that part in. Info is still scattered and coming in by the minute, so I wouldnt be suprised if the times changed also.

Another bit from the local news : Several homes are leveled, number not known yet.

So bombs in Boston on Patriots day;

Then an explosion at Waco of all places (the seige ended April 19th ).

Could just be a coincidence, like the library fire at the same time as the bombs in Boston, but it's a pretty wacky coincidence if it is one.

I hope it is just an accident.

Otherwise where will they be likely to strike next (I said this after Boston too).

If this is also deliberate they need to be caught very quickly.

just to be clear: that facility is not a fertilizer factory it is a CO-OP that sells fertilizer they do not manufacture from my understanding.



Texas officials knew in 2006 that West Fertilizer’s tanks of anhydrous ammonia were near school, homes

Originally posted by krossfyter



Texas officials knew in 2006 that West Fertilizer’s tanks of anhydrous ammonia were near school, homes

And why do people insist to live near places like this?






Thoughts and Prayers for those affected.

Just been reading this report on it. Sounds horrific, wish all the best to the inhabitants.

Th e Independent

The bit that really caught my eye was the eyewitness saying "it was a small fire and then water got sprayed on the ammonium nitrate and it exploded just like the Oklahoma City bomb".

reply to post by sonnny1



That town grew up around that plant.

Its probably the main source of income for a lot since it is very small, around 3000 population.

There is going to be so many deaths coming from there.

The Oklahoma bombing used about 4800 pounds in the ryder truck, this place just blew at least 200,000 pounds with many private homes nearby.

First responder fire crews had plenty of time to get there and be in the blast... I fear shades of 9/11 and having a full fire house wiped out.

It is going to be a surreal scene when the sun comes up.. and the MSM will be giving you all the helicopter footage you could ever want.

Originally posted by sonnny1

Originally posted by krossfyter



Texas officials knew in 2006 that West Fertilizer’s tanks of anhydrous ammonia were near school, homes

And why do people insist to live near places like this?

Thoughts and Prayers for those affected.

exactly. thats my initial response. the plant (co-op) didnt even consider this situation in their worst case scenario.
so how could people that build near there or live near there know this could happen?


what the hell?

"Worst-case scenario

According to the Dallas Morning News, the plant informed the Environmental Protection Agency that it presented no risk of fire or explosion.

In a report it filed with the EPA, the plant said that even the worst-case scenario wouldn't be that dire: there would be a 10-minute release of ammonia gas that wouldn't kill or injure anyone, the newspaper reported."


link