"State and federal investigators on Sunday began their first in-depth look at the cratered epicenter of a fertilizer plant explosion that killed at least 14 people, including about 10 volunteer firefighters and the residents who tried to help them extinguish a fire at the site."
"Investigators said their priority is to piece together how firefighters responded, what tactics they used to fight the fire and where the men were when they died. They want to determine what started the fire, what triggered the blast and what chemicals were kept at the plant.
“That’s what we’re going to be doing today, for the next couple days, is getting in the hole and start digging that out and see what transpired to cause this devastation in this area,” said Robert Champion."
Brandon Formby reports for the Dallas Morning News April 21, 2013.
SEE ALSO:
"After West Fertilizer Explosion, Concerns Over Safety, Regulation and Zoning" (NPR/StateImpact Texas)
"A Texas Town Mourns the First Responders Who Paid With Their Lives" (New York Times)
"Texas Fertilizer Company Didn't Heed Disclosure Rules Before Blast" (Reuters)
"Fertilizer Shows Its Deadly Side" (NPR)
Waco Tribune Front Page: Many stories on West Blast
"Lawmaker: Texas Fertilizer Plant 'Was Willfully Off the Grid'" (Raw Story)
"'Red Flag': Texas Plant Had 1,350 Times Amount of Chemical That Would Trigger Oversight" (U.S. News/NBC)
"2 More Bodies in Texas Explosion, Death Toll at 14" (AP)
"As Heart-Wrenching Week Ends, Texas Town Where Plant Exploded Prays, Plans _ and Waits" (AP)
"Derrick Hurtt, West, Texas Resident, Describes Plant Explosion: 'You Think You're Dead' (VIDEO)" (Huffington Post)
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