West Fertilizer Explosion Was Intentionally Set: ATF, State Fire Marshal
The fire and explosion covered a 37-square-mile area, destroyed more than 500 homes and left a crater 93 feet wide and 12 feet deep
By Frank Heinz ••
The families of victims from the April 17, 2013, explosion at a fertilizer plant in West were called to a meeting by federal investigators Wednesday to hear the news that the fire and explosion that killed their loved ones was intentionally set.
A fertilizer explosion that killed 15 people and injured dozens in West, Texas, in April 2013 was intentionally set, government officials said during a press conference Wednesday.
"The fire has been ruled as incendiary; this means this fire was a criminal act," said Rob Elder, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Houston Field Division.
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Honor guard stand in front of caskets prior to a memorial service for first responders who died in last week's fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Click to see more photos from Thursday's funeral procession.
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President Barack Obama speaks at the memorial for firefighters killed at the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
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An honor guard member salutes at the memorial for firefighters.
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Members of the Patriot Guard line the road for a procession prior to Thursday's memorial service.
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Fire trucks take part in a procession prior to a memorial service for first responders who died. President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Gov. Rick Perry are set to speak at Thursday's memorial at Baylor University's Ferrell Center in Waco. Firefighters and other first responders were among those killed when a fire at the plant erupted in an explosion last week. Hundreds of people were injured.
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Mark Turner holds a Texas flag as he waits for a procession to pass.
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A firefighter salutes as fire trucks take part in a procession prior to a memorial service.
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Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Louie Bright III, right, hands Holly Harris an American flag at the funeral for her husband, Dallas Fire-Rescue Captain Kenneth "Luckey" Harris, Jr.
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The casket for Dallas Fire-Rescue Captain Kenneth "Luckey" Harris, Jr. is brought in on a fire truck lead by bagpipers at the Bold Springs Cemetery.
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Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Louie Bright, III, second left, and retired Dallas Fire Department Chaplain Denny Burris, second right, salute the casket of Dallas Fire-Rescue Captain Kenneth "Luckey" Harris, Jr. during his funeral at the Bold Springs Cemetery in West, Texas.
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President Barack Obama greets well wishers at Dallas Love Field, Wednesday, April 24, 2013, as he arrived with first lady Michelle Obama to attend the George W. Bush presidential library dedication and the memorial for victims of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas.
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President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama greet well wishers after they step off Air Force One at Dallas Love Field.
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The nearby apartment complex, severely damaged. Such destruction.
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The nearby apartment complex, severely damaged in the West fertilizer plant explosion.
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The nearby apartment complex, severely damaged. Such destruction.
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The nearby apartment complex, severely damaged. Such destruction.
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The nearby apartment complex, severely damaged. Such destruction.
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West Rest Haven, the nursing home was damaged in the blast.
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The roof of the nearby nursing home is collapsed in.
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West Rest Haven, the nursing home was damaged in the blast, a tree out front also damaged.
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A tree in the park across the street blown over. Really reminds me of the destruction you see in a tornado.
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West High School damaged in the fertilizer plant explosion.
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A car in the blast zone in West is heavily damaged.
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The remains of an apartment complex and a destroyed car lies in ruins next to the fertilizer plant that exploded yesterday afternoon on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas. According to West Mayor Tommy Muska, around 14 people, including 10 first responders, were killed and more than 150 people were injured when the fertilizer company caught fire and exploded, leaving damaged buildings for blocks in every direction. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
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A Valley Mills Fire Department personnel walks among the remains of an apartment complex next to the fertilizer plant that exploded yesterday afternoon on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas. According to West Mayor Tommy Muska, around 14 people, including 10 first responders, were killed and more than 150 people were injured when the fertilizer company caught fire and exploded, leaving damaged buildings for blocks in every direction. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
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The remains of an apartment complex next to the fertilizer plant that exploded yesterday afternoon on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas. According to West Mayor Tommy Muska, around 14 people, including 10 first responders, were killed and more than 150 people were injured when the fertilizer company caught fire and exploded, leaving damaged buildings for blocks in every direction. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
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A deer head mount sits inside a damaged car parked next to the apartment complex that was severely damaged by yesterday's explosion at the fertilizer plant on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas. According to West Mayor Tommy Muska, around 14 people, including 10 first responders, were killed and more than 150 people were injured when the fertilizer company caught fire and exploded, leaving damaged buildings for blocks in every direction. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
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Valley Mills Fire Department personnel walk among the remains of an apartment complex next to the fertilizer plant that exploded yesterday afternoon on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas. According to West Mayor Tommy Muska, around 14 people, including 10 first responders, were killed and more than 150 people were injured when the fertilizer company caught fire and exploded, leaving damaged buildings for blocks in every direction. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
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The remains of an apartment complex next to the fertilizer plant that exploded yesterday afternoon on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas. According to West Mayor Tommy Muska, around 14 people, including 10 first responders, were killed and more than 150 people were injured when the fertilizer company caught fire and exploded, leaving damaged buildings for blocks in every direction. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
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Valley Mills Fire Department personnel view the railroad tracks near to the fertilizer plant that exploded yesterday afternoon on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas. According to West Mayor Tommy Muska, around 14 people, including 10 first responders, were killed and more than 150 people were injured when the fertilizer company caught fire and exploded, leaving damaged buildings for blocks in every direction. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
Ben Russell, NBC 5 News
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Smoke still rises from the rubble of a house next to the fertilizer plant that exploded yesterday afternoon on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas. According to West Mayor Tommy Muska, around 14 people, including 10 first responders, were killed and more than 150 people were injured when the fertilizer company caught fire and exploded, leaving damaged buildings for blocks in every direction. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
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Mourners attend a service at St. Mary's Church of the Assumption Thursday, April 18, 2013, a day after an explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas. The massive explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. killed as many as 35 people and injured more than 160. Click to see more photos.
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A railroad boxcar filled with ammonium nitrate lays on its side near to the remains of the fertilizer plant that exploded on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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A bucket for placing money for support of residents and first responders is seen here at the Little Czech Bakery in West, Texas, Friday April 19, 2013. The bodies of 12 people have been recovered after an enormous Texas fertilizer plant explosion left about 200 other people injured, authorities said Friday.
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Valley Mills Fire Department personnel view the railroad tracks near to the fertilizer plant that exploded on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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A fiery explosion that damaged or destroyed buildings within a half-mile radius ripped through the facility, injuring more than 160 people and killing around 35 people, including 10 first responders, April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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Authorities man a roadblock leading to the fertilizer plant where a massive blast took place the night before in West, Texas on April 18, 2013.
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A Texas State Trooper stops people from entering the neighberhood around the West Fertilizer Company April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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Search and rescue workers comb through what remains of a 50-unit apartment building (foreground) and the West Rest Haven Nursing Home the day after an explosion at the West Fertilizer Company destroyed the buildings April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
Jackie Arias picks up donated clothing at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4819 after her house was damaged in the massive fertilizer plant explosion, April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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Coy Zahirniak feeds his uncle's dog Dasiy Duke sausage after the dog and its owners survived the West Fertilizer Company explosion, but lost their home April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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Bill Warren, a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4819, lowers the U.S. flag to half staff in memory of victims of the West Fertilizer Company explosion April 18, 2013 about 20 miles north of Waco in West, Texas.
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According to West Mayor Tommy Muska, around 35 people, including 10 first responders, were killed and more than 160 people were injured in a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, April 18, 2013.
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One of the numerous homes damaged by an explosion at the West Fertilizer Company is shown from the air on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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Search and rescue workers comb through what remains of a 50-unit apartment building the day after an explosion at the West Fertilizer Company destroyed the building April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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Debris litters a farmer's field after An explosion yesterday leveled the West Fertilizer Company, shown from the air on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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Authorities searched through mounds of rubble in hopes of finding survivors of the blast that left shattered homes and wreckage in a wide swath of the town, which has only 2,800 people, April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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The fire and explosion just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, 2013, at the West Fertilizer Plant in West, Texas, prompted widespread evacuations and sent more than 160 injured people to hospitals.
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A home burned to the ground by an explosion at the West Fertilizer Company is shown from the air on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas. According to West Mayor Tommy Muska, around 35 people were killed and more than 150 people were injured when the fertilizer company caught fire and exploded.
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Authorities searched through mounds of rubble in hopes of finding survivors of the blast that left shattered homes and wreckage in a wide swath of the town, which has only 2,800 people, April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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An explosion yesterday at the West Fertilizer Company destroyed the West Rest Haven Nursing Home a block away, shown from the air on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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The West Fertilizer Company, shown from the air, lies in ruins on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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Search and rescue workers comb through what remains of a 50-unit apartment building the day after an explosion at the West Fertilizer Company destroyed the building April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A firefighter stands on a rail line and surveys the remains of the Texas fertilizer plant destroyed by an explosion.
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Firefighters conduct a search and rescue of an apartment building destroyed by the West, Texas explosion.
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Firefighters search an area destroyed by the fertilizer plant.
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A fire smokes near the fertilizer plant that exploded earlier in West, Texas.
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The remains of the the fertilizer plant smolder in the rain. The explosion that struck around 8 p.m. Wednesday sent flames shooting into the night sky and rained burning embers and debris down on shocked and frightened residents.
Ames Meyer, Chopper 5
A group of volunteer firefighters and a single law enforcement officer who responded to the fire call at the West Fertilizer Co. about an hour before the blast remain unaccounted for.
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Blown out plate glass windows lay shattered on the sidewalk and street after the West Fertilizer Company exploded on April 18, 2013 in West, Texas.
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An elderly person is assisted at a staging area at a local school stadium following the explosion, which was so strong that it flattened homes and shattered windows in a nearby residential neighborhood and released a shockwave that was felt as far as 80 miles away.
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Some 75 buildings were damaged in the explosion, including a nursing home.
April Martinez
As firefighters were working to put out a fire at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, a massive explosion occurred, injuring more than 160 and killing as many as 15. A viewer sent in this photo of the explosion, which damaged buildings for blocks in every direction. Click to see more photos from the scene.
Ames Meyer, Chopper 5
Police responded to the explosion and continued to evacuate people from nearby buildings. "At some point this will turn into a recovery operation, but at this point, we are still in search and rescue," said Waco police Sgt. William Patrick Swanton.
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With smoke rising in the distance, a law enforcement officer runs a check point at the perimeter about half a mile from the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas.
Ames Meyer, Chopper 5
The explosion leveled a four-block area around the plant and destroyed a middle school, the West Rest Haven Nursing Home, an apartment complex and up to 75 houses.
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Shattered glass covers items in the front of a thrift show after the West Fertilizer Company exploded.
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A plume of spoke rises from the explosion in this Instagram photo provided by Andy Bartee.
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Rescue workers gather near a damaged apartment complex after a nearby fertilizer plant exploded Wednesday, April 17, 2013, in West, Texas. A massive explosion left the factory a smoldering ruin following a blast that damaged buildings for blocks in every direction.
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An emergency worker walks through damaged apartment building following a fertilizer plant explosion Wednesday, April 17, 2013, in West, Texas.
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A person looks on as emergency workers fight a house fire after a nearby fertilizer plant exploded Wednesday, April 17, 2013, in West, Texas.
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An injured elderly person is assisted by two young males as a nursing home is evacuated after an explosion at a nearby fertilizer plant.
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A fire still burns in an apartment complex destroyed near a fertilizer plant that exploded earlier in West, Texas.
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A fire burns at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas after the explosion.
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Another viewer's photo of the explosion outside of Waco.
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Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Trooper D.L. Wilson confirmed fatalities among the tight-knit community of 2,800 from the devastating explosion, but he declined to comment on how many people had been killed.
Here, apartments affected by the blast are shown.
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NBC 5 Chopper photo of EMS crews at the triage set up for West, Texas explosion victims.
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NBC 5 Chopper photo of the fires at the West, Texas explosion.
Erick Perez
NBC 5 viewer Erick Perez sent in video of the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion.
The fire originated in the West Fertilizer Company's fertilizer seed building, Elder said. He declined to elaborate on the source of ignition or if any accelerant was used, citing the open investigation.
The fire and eventual explosion covered a 37-square-block area, destroyed more than 500 homes and left a crater 93 feet wide and 12 feet deep at the site of the blast. Items of evidence were recovered as far away as 2.5 miles, Elder said.
Government investigators believe a fertilizer explosion that killed 15 people and injured dozens in West, Texas, in April 2013 was intentionally set.
He said Wednesday officials "hypothesized, considered, tested and eliminated" all "reasonable, accidental and natural fire scenarios" before drawing their conclusion.
Bryce Reed, a paramedic for West EMS who helped evacuate residents before the blast, was found to be in possession of bomb-making materials in the days after the explosion. Investigators, however, found no evidence linking him to the fertilizer blast. After undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, Reed was sentenced to 21 months in prison in the unrelated pipe bomb case.
Incredible video from NBC 5 DFW viewer Erick Perez shows the explosion at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas. The video plays once at regular speed, then it is slowed down half speed, then frame by frame.
Elder reiterated Wednesday that Reed is not a suspect in the West explosion.
"He pled guilty to charges. He did his time and, to my knowledge, he served his time and is back out. We do not consider him a suspect in this case," Elder said.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board and the state fire marshal's office previously issued reports faulting the storage of the fertilizer, emergency response and other factors in contributing to the blast, which registered as an earthquake of magnitude 2.1.
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Bill Warren, a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4819, lowers the U.S. flag to half staff in memory of victims of the West Fertilizer Company explosion April 18, 2013 about 20 miles north of Waco in West, Texas. A fiery explosion that damaged or destroyed buildings within a half-mile radius ripped through the facility last night, injuring more than 160 people and killing an unknown number of others. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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Fourteen people died in an explosion rocked the fertilizer plant in West on April 17, 2013. These are the faces of the fallen, confirmed by family and friends.
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Buck Uptmor, 45, a West volunteer firefighter, was killed in the while trying to free horses from a barn near the fertilizer plant. He is survived by his wife and three children, including an 18-year-old daughter and two sons ages 12 and 10.
Dallas Fire Department
Kenny Harris, 52, a captain with Dallas Fire-Rescue lives in West. He was off-duty at the time but responded to the scene to help. Harris is survived by his wife and three grown sons.
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Morris Bridges, 41, was a member of the West Volunteer Fire Department. He is survived by his wife and three children ages 2, 17 and 18.
Jerry Chapman, 26, was a member of the neighboring Abbott Volunteer Fire Department. He was taking an emergency medical technician class when the fire broke out. Friends at the Black-Eyed Pea where he worked as a server say they weren't surprised to hear he ran to the fire to help.
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Perry Calvin, 37, a Navarro Mills volunteer firefighter, was in West taking a course to become an emergency medical technician when the call came in. His father is the fire chief at the Navarro Mills Fire Department. He is survived by his wife and two sons, his third child is due in November.
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Cyrus Reed, 29, an Abbott volunteer firefighter, he also volunteered with West EMS. He graduated from Elsik High School near Houston in 2003.
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Joey Pustejovsky, 29, was a West volunteer firefighter and served as the city secretary. He got married in March 2012.
Aderhold Funeral Home
Cody Dragoo, 50, was not only a firefighter in West for 15 years, he worked at the fertilizer plant. He moved to Texas from Montana in 1994. He is survived by his wife.
Aderhold Funeral Home
Douglas "Doug" Snokhous, 50, a longtime West resident and volunteer firefighter responded to the call for help at the fertilizer plant. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, three step-children and several grandchildren.
Aderhold Funeral Home
Robert "Bob" Snokhous, 48, a longtime West resident and volunteer firefighter responded to the call for help at the fertilizer plant. He is survived by his wife, son, two daughters and two grandchildren.
Alderhold Funeral Home
Jimmy Ray Matus, 52, was the owner of Westex Welding and Custom Fire Apparatus in West, TX. He was named an honorary firefighter after having worked on building one of the department's trucks. His wife preceded him in death in 2001, he is survived by a son, daughter, two step-daughters and five grandchildren.
Aderhold Funeral Home
Judith Ann "Judy" Monroe, 65, died at her apartment during the blast according to the Waco Tribune. She moved to West in 2001. She is survived by her husband and son and two grandchildren.
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Mariano Saldivar, 57, died at his apartment when the explosion rocked West according to the Waco Tribune. He is survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter.
Kevin Sanders, 33, a West EMS worker, who responded to the fire at the fertilizer plant, also died in the blast. He served as a volunteer firefighter with Bruceville-Eddy Fire Co. and was a veterinary technician. He is survived by a wife and young child.
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Adolph Lander, 96, a resident of West Rest Haven nursing home, survived the blast but died hours later, his family told NBC Nightly News his heart gave out. He is survived by a son, a daughter, six grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
Elder said the investigation into the ammonium nitrate explosion is one of the largest fire investigations ever undertaken by the ATF. Investigators have spent more than $2 million so far, some of which went to fund the scale reproduction of a portion of the West Fertilizer Co. plant to try to determine exactly what took place.
"It was a total surprise," said Phil Calvin. "They talk about terrorism a lot of different ways. To me, it's just, it's terrorism."
Investigators said Wednesday someone intentionally set the fire that led to the fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15 people in West, Texas, on April 17, 2013.
Calvin's son, Perry Calvin, a volunteer firefighter, rushed to try and extinguish the fire but was killed in the blast.
"To think someone could have done that intentionally," Phil Calvin said, shaking his head. "It was like somebody just hit me in the face. It hurt, and the longer I thought about it the madder I got."
Perry Calvin was one of the 15 people who died in the explosion, 12 of them firefighters just like him.
"I mean, whoever it was, I hope they catch them and put them in a place where I never have to see them," Phil Calvin said. "Ever."
Throughout the investigation, officials conducted more than 400 interviews, completed a fire scene examination, reviewed video and performed extensive scientific testing at the ATF Fire Research Lab in Maryland.
Elder added a full report on the blast will not be released until the conclusion of the criminal case and that murder charges, if any, would be determined after an arrest is made.
A fertilizer explosion in West, Texas, that killed 15 and injured dozens of others in April 2013 was intentionally set, government officials said during a press conference Wednesday.
Elder said the ATF was offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of the person or people responsible for the explosion and fire. The Waco-McLennan County Crime Stoppers program is offering a separate $2,000 reward for the same information.
Those with information are asked to call 254-753-4357 or submit tips online at www.wacocrimestoppers.org. All tips received will be forwarded to the ATF for follow-up.
