Town in shock over news that Texas fertilizer-plant explosion was deliberate
Ad Feedback
Video Ad Feedback
Crime and intrigue
texas fertilizer plant blast pkg_00000916.jpg
KTVT
Now playing
01:28
ATF: Texas plant blast was no accident
Facebook
Now playing
01:09
Police: Bulgarian journalist raped, murdered
Authorities are investigating the scene in East Austin, Texas, after a teenager was killed and a woman was injured in the second Austin package explosion in the past two weeks Monday, March 12, 2018. Authorities say a package that exploded inside of an Austin home on Monday is believed to be linked to a deadly package sent to another home in Texas' capital city earlier this month. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP
charlottesville gunshot aclu virginia von_00000907.jpg
Now playing
01:25
Man charged with firing gun at protesters
This undated still image from video provided by WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio, shows Jefferson County, Ohio Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. Bruzzese was shot and wounded Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, as he walked toward his county's courthouse in Steubenville, Ohio, and a suspect was killed after a probation officer returned fire, officials said. (WTOV-TV via AP)
WTOV-TV /AP
Now playing
00:52
Ambushed judge returns fire, suspect dead
FILE- In this Oct. 5, 2016 file photo, Indian spiritual guru who calls himself Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan, center, greets followers as he arrives for a press conference ahead of the release of his new movie "MSG, The Warrior Lion Heart," in New Delhi, India. Several cities in north India were under a security lock down Thursday ahead of a verdict in a rape trial involving a controversial and hugely popular spiritual leader. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal, File)
Tsering Topgyal/AP
Now playing
01:37
Deadly clashes after guru convicted of rape
Isra Chaker
Now playing
01:22
Death of Muslim teen near mosque investigated
Twitter post captions: Police and ambulances on Hackney/Queensbridge Road, possible acid/petrol attack. Lots of @UberEATS @Deliveroo drivers rallied round
@sarah_cobbold/Twitter
Now playing
01:27
5 acid attacks in 1 night in London
Walla News
Now playing
01:34
Authorities: Teen killed for dating Muslim
KDVR
Now playing
00:49
Veteran killed after saving teens
KATC
Now playing
02:06
Questions linger in Louisiana man's death
Bucks County Sheriff's Office
Now playing
01:16
Body of 1 of 4 missing Pennsylvania men found
Story highlights
News that arson caused explosion in West, Texas, raises more questions than answers
"I don't want to blame anyone for it," resident says
CNN
—
Rumors started swirling on Tuesday that the news was coming.
Residents of West, Texas, hoped they would finally learn what happened the night of April 17, 2013, when a deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant leveled their town. The blast devastated the small town about 70 miles south of Dallas, destroying 500 homes and killing 15 people, including 12 first responders.
Lifelong West residents Mike and Janet Sulak lost their home in the blast. They had suspicions as to what caused the fire based on bits and pieces of information over the years. Maybe an electrical fire caused the explosion, they thought, something accidental, unintentional, unforeseeable.
Nothing could prepare for them for the truth.
After conducting 400 interviews and lab work on evidence, investigators determined someone started the fire on purpose, officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said.
Authorities would not comment on whether they know of a suspect. But “we’re headed in the right direction,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Robert Elder said. The ATF is offering up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of whoever set the blaze.
The Sulaks watched the news conference in their family-owned pharmacy, West Drug. It left them in complete shock.
Instead of getting answers, they have more questions.
“I’m at a loss,” Mike Sulak said. “I can’t imagine the intent of the person who would’ve set it on fire.”
By the numbers
15: People killed500: Homes destroyed 37: City blocks damaged2.5: Miles covered with debris$2 million: Cost of investigation
‘Like a nuclear bomb went off’
Families of the those killed have struggled to find answers to what happened on April 17, 2013.
That night, a fire broke out at the West Fertilizer Co. About 20 minutes later, the plant exploded with such force it caused a magnitude-2.1 earthquake.
“It was like a nuclear bomb went off,” West Mayor Tommy Muska said.
A deafening boom echoed for miles. The blast stripped a 50-unit apartment complex of its walls and windows.
It was “massive – just like Iraq, just like the Murrah (Federal) Building in Oklahoma City,” said D.L. Wilson of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The fertilizer company had been cited by federal regulators twice since 2006.
A U.S. Chemical Safety Board investigation concluded the explosion was preventable, board chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso said on the one-year anniversary of the blast.
“It resulted from the failure of a company to take the necessary steps to avert a preventable fire and explosion and from the inability of federal, state and local regulatory agencies to identify a serious hazard and correct it,” Moure-Eraso said.
Elder, the ATF special agent, said Wednesday that the owner of the plant has been cooperating with authorities.
Victims as heroes
The blast was so catastrophic, it damaged or destroyed houses across 37 blocks, including the home where the Sulaks raised their family.
They count themselves among the lucky ones. They were out to dinner in nearby Waco when the blast occurred. It damaged their home beyond repair but miraculously, their family pharmacy, West Drug, survived.
After more than two years of living with family they moved back to the site of their old home in December. Mike Sulak estimates that donations of money, materials and manpower from across the state saved them $15,000 in rebuilding costs.
“Words to describe it are tough. It brought us all together; we have shared a common experience.”
Rebuilding continues elsewhere in town, Janet Sulak said. The nursing home has opened in a new location. This fall the Sulaks’ grandchildren will no longer have to attend school in trailers, after the new high school opens. The Sokol gymnasium, a fitness hall with roots in the town’s Czech heritage, is open again.
News like this reopens old wounds, she said. Many in town wish it would end.
“It keeps coming up all the time,” she said. “Just let it rest, already.”
Even if it was arson, part of her still believes it was an accident. Even if someone set the fire, surely it was never the intention for it to spread like it did.
“I don’t want to blame anyone for it,” she said. “But it happened and I guess we will have to accept whatever the board comes up with and move on from there.”
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
West, Texas: A community mourns —
U.S. President Barack Obama attends a memorial service at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, on April 25. The memorial was held for those killed in the blast at a Texas fertilizer plant. Fourteen people, nearly all first responders, died in an explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. on April 17. See photos from the explosion.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Photos of the fallen firefighters stand next to their coffins at the memorial on April 25.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Mourners at the memorial on April 25.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
JASON REED/Reuters/LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Coffins containing the remains of victims from the fertilizer plant explosion in the town of West, Texas, at a memorial on April 25.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
RICHARD RODRIGUEZ/Reuters/LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
A firefighters honor guard stands before the coffins of fallen comrades on April 25.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
RICHARD RODRIGUEZ/Reuters/LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Firefighters salute as fire trucks and emergency vehicles pass under a flag before the memorial service on April 25.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
Ian C. Bates/REUTERS/LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Firefighters lead the funeral procession for Capt. Kenneth "Luckey" Harris Jr. on Thursday, April 24, in West, Texas.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
Ian C. Bates/REUTERS/LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Firefighters stand on the back of a firetruck that transported Harris' body to the Bold Springs Cemetery in West on April 24.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
Ian C. Bates/REUTERS/LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Family and friends stand in front of Harris' casket at the cemetery on April 24.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
Reuters /Landov
West, Texas: A community mourns —
A bugler plays taps at a memorial ceremony at the site of the explosion in West on April 24.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
REUTERS /TIM SHARP /LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Pallbearers carry the casket of fallen firefighter Capt. Kenneth "Luckey" Harris Jr. after his funeral at St. Mary's Catholic Church of the Assumption in West, Texas, on April 24.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
WANG LEI/Xinhua /Landov
West, Texas: A community mourns —
A memorial is set up on Monday, April 22, outside a fire station for the firemen who perished in the explosion.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
Wang Lei/XINHUA /LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Flowers are tied on a firetruck on April 22 as a memorial for the firemen who died while responding to the explosion.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
ADREES LATIF/Reuters/LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Vanna Wainwright and her daughter Breanna take part in an open air Sunday service on April 21. Members of the First Baptist Church held their service in an open air field after their church was damaged from the explosion.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
Wang Lei/XINHUA /LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Local residents attend a commemoration ceremony on April 21 for those that perished during the fertilizer explosion.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
Wang Lei/XINHUA/LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Local residents attend a ceremony in West, Texas, on April 21.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
ADREES LATIF/Reuters/LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Residents embrace after a Sunday service at St. Mary's Catholic Church on April 21, four days after the deadly explosion.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
Zhang Yongxing/XINHUA/LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Residents collect donations on Saturday, April 20.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
REUTERS /JAIME R. CARRERO /LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
A candlelight vigil is held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in West, Texas, on Thursday, April 18.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Eric Garcia, 12, cries during a candlelight vigil in West, Texas, honoring the victims of the explosion on April 18. More than 200 people were injured and 50 homes destroyed in the small town.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns —
People gather for a candlelight vigil at a church in West on April 18.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Residents tend a prayer service at St. Mary's.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
REUTERS /JAIME R. CARRERO /LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
A girl closes her eyes during the vigil.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/ MCT /LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
A young mourner is comforted during the vigil on April 18.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
EPA/LARRY W. SMITH /LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
People pray during a candlelight vigil at St. Mary's Church on April 18.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
REUTERS /JAIME R. CARRERO /LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
Residents embrace after taking part in the vigil.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
REUTERS /JAIME R. CARRERO /LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
A woman clasps her hands during the candlelight vigil on April 18.
Photos: West, Texas: A community mourns
EPA/LARRY W. SMITH /LANDOV
West, Texas: A community mourns —
A young man holds a candle during the vigil.
CNN’s Ralph Ellis. Ed Lavandera, Marylynn Ryan contributed to this report.