West expected to get state aid to rebuild ailing infrastructure after explosion

[TexasTowelie]

In January, three months before the members of West’s volunteer fire department would face the biggest conflagration they had ever seen, their town’s last working water well conked out.

So when the local fertilizer plant caught fire April 17, West had only half its normal supply of water, every drop piped from Lake Waco 15 miles away.

Even so, that fire — which caused tons of ammonium nitrate to detonate — apparently spread too fast to put West’s crippled water system to the test. Equipped with a single tanker truck that would have taken only minutes to drain, firefighters were still trying to hook up to the nearest water hydrant three blocks away when the plant blew up, said Mayor Tommy Muska.

But Muska believes sufficient water could have made a difference in what happened next, when flames thrown by the blast eventually destroyed a school and several houses.

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/west-expected-to-get-state-aid-to-rebuild-ailing-i/nYZk2/ .

[Ilsa]

1. So now they are going to blame

the explosion on inadequate water supply and pressure instead of the negligence of the business owner. They must really love that bastard. And this could make civil suits for the victims even more difficult.

Well, let them put their faith in douchebag politicians. See where it got them already? Dead relatives, no homes, no schools.

[They_Live]

2. So somehow it's the taxpayers' fault?

Why was this facility even near residential and school buildings? It shouldn't even be located inside a town because of the potential danger. The business owner and his insurance should be paying for the reconstruction of the town and for the loss of life here.

[TexasTowelie]

3. To answer your questions:

Last edited Mon Jul 1, 2013, 07:36 PM - Edit history (1)

1) The facility was on the northeast edge of town when it was built in the 1960s. The apartments and nursing home came into the area afterwards. The school also constructed many of their facilities afterwards.

2) The fertilizer plant only had a $1 million insurance policy. The company only has minimal assets since the explosion and will declare bankruptcy. The owner is protected from a legal point of view since the plant is a corporation.

[They_Live]

4. Thanks Towelie!

I sort of knew all that, but I'm just amazed at the ridiculous "shock doctrine" example of it all.

I guess I need to be a corporate church so I can avoid responsibility and taxation. Durn it, now I'm starting to think like them. Arg.