Page 15 - Fighting Fire News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Under way in this small town. it is named west, west, texas. it's about 18 miles away from waco, texas. there was this massive explosion at this fertilizer plant last night. so strong it registered as a 2.1 magnitude. authorities say homes leveled, businesses leveled. right now police estimate between 5 and 15 people have died but they may totally clear that these estimates are preliminary. they could grow. they simply have no idea. they won't have an idea until daylight there. >> area hospitals have already seen over 150 people. some children and adults. a handful right now are in critical co...

Me as some smoldering fires that continued, not only in the homes in the neighborhood but also inside the fertilizer plant itself. obviously, they're going to want to be very careful in entering any of the structures, whether it's a home, a business or the fertilizer plant, because we certainly don't want any more casualties from this fire. yes, ma'am. >> sir, that north side of town they have -- [ inaudible ] >> i have asked that question specifically about the environmental impact and the potential for that to continue. have i been told by the emergency management people that are downtown th...

Again, i'm told that's not going to be a concern based on the fire being under -- mostly under control. >> two things you may have answered already. any continuing or has fire resumed and the geography, how many blocks affected by the damage? >> when i talked to chief deputy kauffman from mclennan county s.o., he described the devastation as immediately around the area as devastating. he said homes were leveled. he said it just kind of depended on where you were. now, he didn't give me specifics but he said in a general close proximity to the fertilizer plant that homes had, in fact, been leve...

Start to see what things look like on the ground a bit better. back over to you. >> jennifer, thank you very much. it's a little bit of a mixed bag. water obviously helpful in fighting fire but it's more helpful to firefighters by wetting down surrounding areas in wildfire situations to control movement. the wind, it all depends on which way it blows. they're going to have to see the intensity of it and the direction. >> and we are seeing pictures of people being treated right now, football field, sports field, open fields. triage right there. people simply laying on the grass. wet don't wan...

Concerned about that anhydrous ammonia, that fire, they're not as concerned about the winds shifting that. initially there was some thought about evacuating the other part of the town. at this point, it seems they're not as concerned about that. >> george, the range of injuries right now, are we talking about mostly blast injuries or any sense of chemical exposure? >> it's a range of thing. respiratory issues and, yeah, bruises, broken bones. we also know that at one of the hospitals here, at scott and white, those five patients, two of them are children. both are in critical condition. and th...