Hotline phone number at Hillcrest/Scott & White hospital in Waco 254-202-1100 to check on loved ones from the fertilizer plant explosion in West.
If you’d like to give blood to replenish the supplies which were shipped out to West last night, go to the Brazos Valley Blood Bank at 1701 Rock Prairie next to Whataburger. It opens at 10 a. m. For more details, or to find mobile blood donation sites, go to the website here.
Relief information, courtesy of Operations Director Tucker “Frito” Young:
To check on injured residents admitted to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center call (254) 202-1100
For family inquiries about patients at Scott & White call (888) 394-4947
Family inquiries about patients at Providence Health Center (254) 761-7200
The Extraco Events Center will be setting up to take donations starting at 9:00 am. For information call 254-776-1660
Carter Blood Care Center will accept donations beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday in Waco.
First Baptist Church of Lott has room for anyone needing a place to stay. Call (254) 829-2321
American Red Cross crews from across Texas were sent to the site of an explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco where multiple injuries have been reported. Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster said her group is working with emergency management officials in the town of West to find a safe shelter for residents displaced from their homes. To donate blood – find a location near you.
The Aquilla ISD opened facilities for those seeking refuge. Please report to the gym entrance.
Blair’s Cove Apartments in Waco offering housing to any West residents affected by the explosion at 2425 S. 21st St. (254) 447-0810
Latham Springs Baptist Camp is open to displaced residents at 134 Private Road 223 in Aquilla.
The Abbott gym is open to displaced residents.
Valley Mills Nursing Home has rooms available for nursing home residents if placement is needed for any of the West nursing home residents. Call 254-932-6288.
First Baptist Church of Gholson is open for anyone who needs a place to stay.
Gholson ISD open for those seeking shelter.
Brazos Meadows Baptist Church at 625 S. Hewitt Dr., adjacent to Castleman Creek Elementary will be open for anyone who needs a place to stay.
American Legion Post 121 in Elm Mott is open for displaced residents.
Sykora Family Ford in West has opened for residents who need a safe place to rest.
Town Hall Estates in Hillsboro was taking in displaced residents.
The Home Depot store in Bellmead will be open all night for those who need plywood, generators, etc.
Both Peas & Tots and Smarty Pants consignment stores in Waco are accepting clothing donations in all sizes for those in West
Comments from DPS Trooper D.L. Wilson at a midnight update:
Wilson confirmed there are fatalities but he did not give a number. He said 100 were injured and all who were hurt were transported to hospitals.
Property damage includes 50 to 75 houses, an apartment complex containing 50 units, and a nursing home containing 133 residents.
Another house by house search was going to be done.
The fertilizer plant that exploded was still smoldering but no firefighters were at the scene.
Wilson said half the town was evacuated, and the rest might be evacuated due to a cold front moving through before sunrise.
Wilson compared the damage to the bombing of the Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City and the warzone in Iraq.
11:30 p.m. update:
WEST, Texas (AP) _ The mayor of a Texas town where an explosion leveled a fertilizer plant says he doesn’t yet know how many people were hurt or killed in the blast.
West Mayor Tommy Muska said at a news conference that there was a fire at the West Fertilizer plant before Wednesday night’s explosion.
The blast could be heard at least 45 miles away and it caused major damage to surrounding buildings.
An official from a hospital in nearby Waco says at least 66 people were taken for treatment there, including 38 who were hurt seriously.
11 p.m. update:
KRLD Radio in Dallas is reporting the town of West is being evacuated because of winds from the southeast blowing ammonia fumes west of Hillsboro into the southwest Hill County.
Congressman Bill Flores sent a tweet stating blood donations will be accepted Thursday starting at 9 a.m. in Waco at Carter Blood Care and Scott & White in Temple.
State Representative Kyle Kacal of rural College Station, whose district includes West, released the following statement Wednesday night:
“While little is still known at this time regarding details of this horrific incident, we must continue to keep all those impacted in our thoughts and prayers. As we continue to gather details on this tragic event, I have full confidence in our first responders and stand ready to assist in any way possible,” said Kacal.”
Tweet from Congressman Bill Flores Wednesday night:
10 p.m. update from The Associated Press:
WACO, Texas (AP) _ American Red Cross crews from across Texas are being sent to the site of an explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco where multiple injuries have been reported.
Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster says her group is working with emergency management officials in the town of West to find a safe shelter for residents displaced from their homes. She says teams from Austin to Dallas and elsewhere are being sent to the community north of Waco.
A West Fire Department dispatcher says the explosion happened Wednesday night at a fertilizer plant. She says any casualties would be taken to hospitals in Waco. It was unclear how many were injured or if any fatalities occurred.
The Department of Public Safety says troopers have been transporting the injured to hospitals.
Original story:
WACO, Texas (AP) _ Authorities say an explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas, has injured several people.
A dispatcher with the West, Texas, Fire Department says the explosion happened Wednesday night at a fertilizer plant in the community north of Waco. She says any casualties would be taken to hospitals in Waco.
Gayle Scarbrough, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety in Waco, told television station KWTX that DPS troopers have been transporting the injured to hospitals in their patrol cars. She says six helicopters were also en route.
KWTX reports that the explosion at West Fertilizer was reported at around 7:50 p.m. in a frantic call from the scene.