West, Texas

One of my favorite small towns in central Texas is West.  It was a perfect distance to drive a girls basketball team for a tournament.  It was midway for those trips to Dallas when an emergency ice cream stop needed a Dairy Queen.  Or the cherry limeade at the Sonic called your name.  There is the kolache bakery where mouth watering delicacies awaited.  Every Labor Day weekend was Czech Fest.  A celebration of everything great about being Czech and about West. 

Yesterday there was a massive explosion and fire at a fertilizer plan in West.  Many buildings were leveled.  The number of dead or injured will not be known for some time.  A horrible situation for a cute little town.  Read about the explosion here.    

Fires in chemical plants are full of danger.  The first concern is the risk of ignition.  As in this fire the chemicals used to make fertilizer are highly combustible.  It appears the fire was under control when it reignited and exploded.  All fires produce carbon monoxide, a gas that prevents your hemoglobin from carrying oxygen.  House fires, and chemical fires, also produce cyanide.  Cyanide stops your cells from utilizing oxygen and creating energy.  In addition nitrogen and sulfur oxides are produced.  Those chemicals are irritant gases that burn your eyes and your lungs.  Some of those gases can scar your lungs leading to long term damage.  Some gases are also heavier than air.  They will pool in low lying areas putting additional people at risk. 

As you can imagine the situation is West is fraught with danger for everyone.  Maybe it is time for all of us that are going about our days hundreds of miles away to say a prayer for everyone that lives in my favorite Texas small town.