Flames engulfed a fertilizer distributor April 17 in West, Texas, causing an explosion that killed as many as 15 people and injured approximately 160 others.

West Fertilizer Co. manufactures and sells fertilizer to local farmers to boost crop production and enrich soil. Anhydrous ammonia, a chemical compound necessary for fertilizer production, is not explosive. However, when mixed anhydrous ammonia is mixed with nitrate, ammonium nitrate is created. The resulting chemical compound is an extremely potent explosive. In fact, Timothy McVeigh used ammonium nitrate as a detonator in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings.

Justin Maresh, assistant professor of chemistry at DePaul explains the risks when combining anhydrous ammonia and nitrate to product fertilizer. “The deadly side of ammonium nitrate is that it is very explosive. Fire requires a fuel, an oxidizer, and heat to get it going,” said Maresh. “Ammonium nitrate is a single substance that contains both a fuel and an oxidizer. When you apply a heat, you get a runaway reaction that generates more heat… an explosion. Storing ammonium nitrate is inherently risky.”

The blast, registering as a 2.1 earthquake, leveled the small town and could be heard as far as Waco. According to the Chicago Tribune website, it “left a devastated landscape, reducing a 50-unit apartment complex to what one local official called ‘a skeleton standing up,’ destroying 60 to 80 houses and heavily damaging a nursing home and schools.”

While the cause of the fire that spurred the fertilizer explosion is still unknown, residents and emergency crews remain displaced due to infrastructure damage, forcing them to seek refuge in churches and remaining public buildings.

Residents of West and other neighboring communities are doing everything they can to provide relief to the injured and grieving. Baylor University in Waco, Texas and Carter BloodCare hosted a blood drive this past weekend for injured West citizens. Hayley Rabe, a sophomore at Baylor, agreed to an interview and explained how students are helping out.

“When Carter BloodCare in Waco opened at 9 a.m. there was a line around the block and I have a friend who waited 4 hours to give blood,” said Rabe. “They now have carter trucks on campus. We also had a concert planned…that was turned into a benefit concert at which our president told us that over $10,000 dollars had already been donated.”

Students at Baylor have taken up the responsibility contributing their time, money, or extra supplies to help those affected. “There are many supply drop off locations set up, but we’ve been told they no longer need supplies, just labor and money,” said Rabe. “Today I went up to West to sort the donations and there is an unbelievable amount of everything it seems.”

The Czech Stop, a small bakery in West known throughout Texas for its homemade baked goods, is also doing everything they can to provide relief to those in need. Czech Stop President and West resident Barbara Schissler shed some light on the situation the town now faces.

“We’re working with a limited staff because many of them have lost their homes,” said Schissler. “They can’t go back because police have the areas roped off. They won’t let anyone back in until emergency crews are through searching for survivors.”

The famous bakery is helping the community by providing food and money to residents and help crews. “We took all kinds of baked goods to St. Joseph’s Hall where emergency workers and displaced residents are being fed,” said Schissler. “We are also collecting monetary donations and so far I’ve counted about $3,000.”

For updated information about missing West residents, casualties and the cause of the fire, please visit depauliaonline.com.