TX - Fertilizer plant explodes in West, Texas

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TGIRecovered said:
It would take a really odd duck of a first responder to just drive on past any type of fire at such a potentially disastrous place as a fertilizer plant.
Add the fact that his home was nearby and his best bud just flew past to work it and you have a very unlikely scenario.

How many of us here at WS are first responders or spouses/ parents/ close friends of one? Do you think for a split second that your adrenaline junky first responder would not immediately pull a U-ie and back up his or her colleagues?

I would liken this situation to a volunteer firefighter passing up a train derailment in their own neighborhood or a small grass fire next to a dry wooded area on a windy summer day. Could be easily handled or could destroy miles of forest and homes, endangering many lives.

I know that my cop hubby would be there lickety-split! This is what he trains for, it is his calling...he is compelled to offer assistance, take charge in a stressful situation, to be there for his buddies 24/7 if necessary. He can't NOT do it.

This dude's story doesn't fly.

MOO


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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100% agree. My father is a full-time for post firefighter and also a volunteer firefighter. They go to EVERY call when a volunteer fire fighter. And every big call at place of work. Every firefighter knows the danger of a fertilizer plant. He would go because of how big this fire could potentially get and want to help. And usually In a small town like where I come from and like West, the help is always needed. This story is not right.

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BeginnersLuck said:
I really have a bad feeling about this. My first thought about this explosion, when it happened, was that it was deliberate. I think part of that stems from other things that went on at the same time.

The first article I read related to this persons arrest, had the video of the speech he gave at the memorial. I'm going to go back and listen to his words again, but it didn't sit right with me. He was talking about his friend (brother) that died and talked about him blowing up things in the yard ??? His FB shows he was clearly struggling with something in the weeks prior to the explosion. What that was is a mystery though. I don't understand the Hitler reference cartoon he posted.

I'm wondering why he took a box of explosive material to a friends and ask them to hold it for him. That doesn't make sense to me. I don't know if this was just a troubled guy that maybe was having some issues with PTSD or depression, etc. and he got on their radar because of his odd behavior or there is something more sinister going on here.

I certainly hope in the horrible rubble that was left in the aftermath of this disaster that they are able to figure out what happened.
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Yes, his FB indicates that he is severely troubled about something. Of course, he along with all the citizens of West have had their lives turned upside down in the most tragic circumstances. I speculate that every citizen of West is traumatized & justifiably so.

For those of you who don't know what living in a small town is like, it is not without its problems. I lived in a small town for the first 18 years of my life & believe me there's not enough money in the world to pay me to live there again. Don't get me wrong, there are many in a small town who care for the other citizens deeply & who would willingly give their lives for others......... good instances are the first responders in West. However, there is always a minority(it doesn't take but 2 or 3) who gossip & cause enough mahem to bring the whole community to a frenzy. I'm not saying this is the case in West because I don't know. I only know, through sad experience, it is a possibility. I agree his behavior has been odd & that may have been enough to set off alarms. I just hope that the cause of the fire can be determined & my prayers are with all the citizens of West.

As for me, I'm now happily living in a large city where no one knows or cares what I am doing or thinking unless I choose to share it with them.
 
mister happy said:
Bryce Reed denies role in deadly blast:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/us/paramedic-bryce-reed-denies-role-in-west-texas-blast.html

You know, I saw Bryce a lot on TV in the days following the explosion. Honestly, the guy gave me the creeps. He seemed to be using this tragedy to get his 15 minutes of fame. Anyone else felt the same?
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I just watched what I could find after his arrest. He was having a lot of trouble with something from his FB posts long before the explosion. If I was struggling like he was before this happened I think the last place I would want to be is in the spotlight. So yes, I do find it odd in a creepy sort of way. It really does look like he needs help from his FB page so even if he didn't have anything to do with this, maybe he will end up getting the help he needs.
 
Softail said:
I hope DD can chime in if she has heard anything.... :sigh:
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Nope, I was in Florida last week and outta the loop...just caught glancing media briefs about it starting yesterday. Wow, what a shocker. I don't have any idea as to what to think about it. Have to read up to see what's been said and reported.

Boy, I certainly hope there is no connection.......................
 
OMG! I had no idea. I never for one moment even thought it was a possibility. With all the talk about the deficiencies in the plants safety plan, and the amount of fertilizers held there I really thought it was just a tragic accident!

Looking through some articles, there were red flags that something was wrong with him. His myspace reads like a fantasy of a teen boy. That he is a country music star. His linked in profile inflates his qualifications. And those are before the explosions.

He was fired from his job shortly before the explosions. Why?

His wife left him and he was fired from his volunteer position after the explosion. At a time when West needed all hands on deck, they fired him? IMO there is more known about this guy and more suspected than what is being discussed publicly.

Does this guy have friends? He may have inflated his relationship with the one firefighter who died. And he gives another person, who must have thought he was a friend, his bomb supplies to keep for him.

Speaking of giving the friend his bomb supplies, was he feeling suspicion and gave them to the friend in order to hide them..... while still keeping them available to him?
 
Does anyone remember the 911 calls? I have been trying to locate the one from the EMS supervisor to 911. I would like to find the name of the person who called.
 
On the local morning news this morning, they said he took a leave of absence from his regular EMS job about 2 weeks before the blast.

And, that 62 of the first responders from West were put on inactive status 2 days after the explosion, because they would need more time, for physical and emotional reasons. Okay, I'm not sure if that "62" is correct, because at least for West VFD, I thought there were only 33 to begin with, then they lost 5-6. Maybe 62 is for all the EMS guys from local agencies, as well? Not sure.

Has anyone read anything about those points?

It seems like maybe he was having family problems leading up to the explosion? Not fact, just DD thinking online outloud, LOL

I reiterated Bryce's story told to the media after the explosion, to Mr DD last night. The story about how he and his wife started heading toward the fire that night, but when he saw Cyrus and other volunteers heading that way, he and his wife decided to turn around and go help with evacuations. Just as several of you also jumped on that...Mr DD and I just can't really make sense with that. Odd, at best. Most volunteer FF's really relish the opportunity to get involved in fires, etc.....it's just...odd.
 
DEPUTYDAWG said:
On the local morning news this morning, they said he took a leave of absence from his regular EMS job about 2 weeks before the blast.

And, that 62 of the first responders from West were put on inactive status 2 days after the explosion, because they would need more time, for physical and emotional reasons. Okay, I'm not sure if that "62" is correct, because at least for West VFD, I thought there were only 33 to begin with, then they lost 5-6. Maybe 62 is for all the EMS guys from local agencies, as well? Not sure.

Has anyone read anything about those points?

It seems like maybe he was having family problems leading up to the explosion? Not fact, just DD thinking online outloud, LOL

I reiterated Bryce's story told to the media after the explosion, to Mr DD last night. The story about how he and his wife started heading toward the fire that night, but when he saw Cyrus and other volunteers heading that way, he and his wife decided to turn around and go help with evacuations. Just as several of you also jumped on that...Mr DD and I just can't really make sense with that. Odd, at best. Most volunteer FF's really relish the opportunity to get involved in fires, etc.....it's just...odd.
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You are right and I was wrong. He took leave from his regular job before the blast. But he and his wife reportedly separated just after the blast. And the media is definitely saying he was fired from the West Texas squad two days after the blast.
 
I'm still not ready to give up on the guy even though he's obviously troubled. He could just be some poor looser having a REALLY BAD string of luck.

However, I do not know what reason he could have for possessing the makings of a pipe bomb. Comments on the WFAA site indicate that the materials could be used for other things. I do not know if that is true or not. Anyone else here have an answer to that???

Please don't flame me, but I also do not understand why any civilian would need an automatic assault rifle. I am a firm believer in the 2nd ammendment but I still do not understand why a civilian would need such a gun. I just chalk it up to boys needing their toys. Maybe these explosives fall into that same category.

I am confident that LE will not rest until they get to the bottom of this. We will someday definitly have an answer.
 
mysteriew said:
You are right and I was wrong. He took leave from his regular job before the blast. But he and his wife reportedly separated just after the blast. And the media is definitely saying he was fired from the West Texas squad two days after the blast.
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Oh, it's not a matter of right and wrong...the first time I heard about it, it was reported he was fired from his regular job before the blast! It's tough trying to weed through often-inaccurate reporting, especially when they're in a hurry to get a scoop!

I'm just confused about WTH he was doing with all those explosive components/ingredients, etc. to begin with!!! And then why the need to give them to an acquaintance right after the Memorial. Who does that? How about...oh, getting rid of it/dumping it, LOL. Apparently, he wanted the items for later? Just strange.
 
faw720 said:
I'm still not ready to give up on the guy even though he's obviously troubled. He could just be some poor looser having a REALLY BAD string of luck.

However, I do not know what reason he could have for possessing the makings of a pipe bomb. Comments on the WFAA site indicate that the materials could be used for other things. I do not know if that is true or not. Anyone else here have an answer to that???

Please don't flame me, but I also do not understand why any civilian would need an automatic assault rifle. I am a firm believer in the 2nd ammendment but I still do not understand why a civilian would need such a gun. I just chalk it up to boys needing their toys. Maybe these explosives fall into that same category.

I am confident that LE will not rest until they get to the bottom of this. We will someday definitly have an answer.
Click to expand...

Oh, I agree about not convicting the guy of having done something criminal that caused the explosion, etc. I will admit my very first gut instinct when I heard the news (a brief mention, as I was watching Florida news), was that there would be a logical reason sorted out later.... I don't know. I'm still not sure why he'd have those items, and then know enough to get rid of them (temporarily, as he gave them to someone rather than trying to dispose of them).

The very first comments I saw from locals on the first FB news briefs were from angry West residents, which were saying there were a lot of meth heads in West, and maybe he was a meth user and had some of the stuff for meth. Those comments were later deleted. But I'm just reporting what the locals were saying early on. They didn't convict the guy or even seriously consider that he caused the explosion. It's like they were looking for any other reason.
 
mysteriew said:
Does anyone remember the 911 calls? I have been trying to locate the one from the EMS supervisor to 911. I would like to find the name of the person who called.
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[video=youtube;9B_OI1NqA6k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B_OI1NqA6k[/video]

I think this has an excerpt of the call you're talking about. I've heard Dr. Smith of West EMS give several interviews saying that he gave direction to one of the EMS folks to use the helicopter radio to call in and ask for help but I don't know that I ever heard the name of the actual caller. But I've had a conversation with Bryce Reed within the past 10 days and I can say that the caller on this particular call is not Reed.
 
Thank you for the info MrsWilco. And yes that is what I was wondering.

BTW

Welcome to WS!
 
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