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Wed Apr 24, 2013, 04:43 PM Apr 2013

West firefighters knew of ammonium nitrate; how it affected response unclear

WEST — Many people in this Central Texas farming community, including volunteer firefighters, knew the fertilizer plant on the northern edge of town stored a chemical sometimes used in explosives.

But whether that knowledge factored into the attempts to put out the fatal blaze near the plant remained unclear Monday.

The town’s volunteer firefighters and the Texas fire marshal’s office declined to provide details on how the fire was fought, whether the volunteer department had a plan to handle a fire at the site or what industry standards are for such a situation. City officials gave no specific reasons for their refusal; a state fire marshal said information on tactics is online.

Assistant State Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner said there is no timeline on when the investigation into the explosion will be complete. Monday was the second day that officials examined the cratered epicenter of the blast. How firefighters battled the blaze will be a key focus.
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Late Monday, Kistner, the assistant state fire marshal, and a spokeswoman for Union Pacific squelched speculation across the state that the West explosion originated in a train car on the railroad adjacent to the plant.

That notion appeared to originate from public comments that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality chairman Bryan Shaw made at an unrelated forum Monday.

He later told the Houston Chronicle that he was not an expert and that he based his observation solely on pictures of the blast site.


Its called a diversion and cover your ass.



http://www.dallasnews.com/news/west-explosion/headlines/20130422-west-firefighters-knew-of-ammonium-nitrate-how-it-affected-response-unclear.ece
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