West explosion ‘criminal act,’ federal investigators say

Authorities say the fire that caused the deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant in 2013 was a criminal act.

Federal and state investigators said Wednesday that they’re investigating who was responsible for causing the fire at the West Fertilizer Co. facility on April 17, 2013, in the town of West.

The fire caused ammonium nitrate to ignite, triggering a massive explosion that killed 15 people, injured hundreds and left part of the small town in ruins.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board and the state fire marshal’s office previously issued reports faulting the storage of the fertilizer, emergency response and other factors contributing to a blast, which registered as an earthquake of magnitude 2.1.

But authorities hadn’t previously indicated what specifically caused the fire.

"I pray to God that they get caught and get the death penalty. No life deserves to be lost due to someone's stupidity, criminal mind set," Kelly Pustejovsky, the widow of one of the firefighters killed, told WFAA.

John Hurtick, a West volunteer firefighter and president of the town’s annual Westfest, saw the ATF announcement on Facebook.

“It really hadn’t soaked in yet,” Hurtick told The Dallas Morning News. “I guess I’d be a little stunned by it.”

He said the town has made “amazing” progress in the last three years, including the recent completion of a new combined middle school and high school.

“But it would only be human nature” to want to know more about what caused the explosion, Hurtick said.

The city of West and numerous families have pursued civil lawsuits against the Adair Grain, the owner of the West Fertilizer plant.

“The storage of the ammonium nitrate that exploded was not part of the ATF investigation,” said attorney Steve Harrison, who represents the city and families in the lawsuits. “The ATF did not investigate what exploded, why it exploded or who knew that it could explode. All of that is the subject of civil litigation to be heard by a McLennan County jury.”

Here’s video of the ATF press conference:

Staff writer Ryan Osborne contributed to this report.

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 12:37 PM with the headline "West explosion ‘criminal act,’ federal investigators say."