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The blast had a magnitude likened to that of a small MOHAB bomb. (I speculate based on the Cell phone video that showed a light washout, the blast, and the nearby apt complex that got annihilated... )

IT's amazing that more people weren't killed by the concussion alone.

It appears to have been an accidental fire, which was left burning. Nothing in the news yet; telling yet how much time people had to evacuate.

My Prayers to the Victims and their families.

I was reading this morning that Anhydrous ammonia (ammonia without water) must be stored under pressure in a liquid state, in gas state it can be set off by water. Some are speculating that they were fighting the fire with water and the fire rupured the anhydrous tank and the water got to the gas causing a detonation.

J-HALEY wrote:I was reading this morning that Anhydrous ammonia (ammonia without water) must be stored under pressure in a liquid state, in gas state it can be set off by water. Some are speculating that they were fighting the fire with water and the fire rupured the anhydrous tank and the water got to the gas causing a detonation.

You would think that they would be informed of such a dangerous situation. If that was the cause, the explosion may have been avoided.

Slacker you are right a fire dept would know how to respond to a chemical fire,hazmat was probably in the fore front.

Amateurs! My REAL job is for a packaged gas company. Water + Ammonia gas does not explode.
Per the MSDS, use water to cool down any ammonia cylinders in a fire.
The only way to get ammonia to combust is in the presence of a catalyst such as platinum.

Most likely it was ammonium nitrate, used to make fertilizer (also used to make that infamous truck bomb in Oklahoma City).

GuitarMikeB wrote:Amateurs! My REAL job is for a packaged gas company. Water + Ammonia gas does not explode.
Per the MSDS, use water to cool down any ammonia cylinders in a fire.
The only way to get ammonia to combust is in the presence of a catalyst such as platinum.

Most likely it was ammonium nitrate, used to make fertilizer (also used to make that infamous truck bomb in Oklahoma City).

That is what the Sci-Guy for the Houston Chronicle was saying in his Blog this morning!
Like the old saying goes "don't believe everything you read"

J-HALEY wrote: That is what the Sci-Guy for the Houston Chronicle was saying in his Blog this morning!
Like the old saying goes "don't believe everything you read"

He probably flunked out of teacher college, ending up writing for the newspaper!
Despite it being a volunteer fire department, I am sure the West FD knew what they were doing in fighting the fire. Sympathies to anyone affected by this latest distaster.

about 50 miles from my house, my son felt the "quake" upstairs but no one else in the house noticed it

How to make a bomb... What a tragedy. This was just one big mess up.

Say a prayer,... sorta like a plane crash. Avoid mistakes. Stuff may happen any way.

For all the people injured and killed... Say a prayer.