The City of West, Texas, is celebrating and honoring those who lost their lives in the fertilizer plant explosion that left 15 dead a decade ago.
On April 17, 2013, following a fire, approximately 30 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at the West Fertilizer Company plant.
The explosion left 260 people injured and caused $230 million in damages, as more than 150 buildings were either damaged or destroyed.
This past Saturday, April 15, just two days before the actual anniversary, West held a ceremony marking the anniversary of the explosion that rocked the town and left Texas in mourning.
The city honored the 15 lives lost that day, including 12 first responders and three civilians.
City officials and citizens paid their respects to the 15 and their family members. The 15 names of the people who died were read aloud, and a moment of silence ended the ceremony.
One firefighter who lost his life, 29-year-old Joey Pustejovsky, was also the city secretary.
His mother, Carolyn Pustejovsky, spoke about what she hopes people remember from the tragic events that took place a decade ago.
“I don’t want anyone to forget what these guys did for the town of West. You know, it could have been a lot worse,” said Pustejovsky, per NBC 5 DFW.
Pustejovsky did not live far from the plant where the explosion occurred.
“The explosion happened. It blew my car up in the air and flipped me going the other way. I had no idea what was going on at that time,” Pustejovsky recalled, per NBC 5 DFW.
It took more than a week to confirm that her son had died in the explosion.
“We were calling every hospital trying to find him. I just kept thinking, ‘he’s going to be OK,’” Pustejovsky told NBC 5 DFW.
West Mayor Tommy Muska also spoke about the explosion.
“All the infrastructure on the north side of town, we’ve completely done the streets. New homes are here; 120 new homes,” Muska said, per NBC 5 DFW.
“Ten years. A lot of times, you forget after 10 years. We don’t ever want to forget these 15 people,” he added.
I read that the Trump admin, TX Republicans with support of the chemical industry unwound the Obama rule that was enacted to prevent another accident like this from happening again. And per the TCEQ, there are 25 such active ammonium nitrate facilities in Texas.
Thanks DX not news for making sure readers must go someplace else to find out the real story. While we’re remembering, do you happen to know where is the nearest facility in my neighborhood that might blow me to pieces at any moment?