Authorities Announcing West Explosion Investigation Results Thursday
The state fire marshal's office and the ATF will announce the results of their joint investigation at 4 p.m. CDT May 16.
Results of the joint investigation by the Texas state fire marshal's office and ATF into the West Fertilizer Co. explosion on April 17 will be announced by officials from both agencies during a 4 p.m. CDT news conference May 16 at West High School, the Texas Department of Insurance announced.
The individuals participating in the news conference are listed as Chris Connealy, the Texas state fire marshal; Robert Champion, ATF's special agent in charge; Kelly Kistner, the assistant state fire marshal; and Brian Hoback, ATF National Response Team supervisor.
The state fire marshal's office and ATF have conducted this as a criminal investigation, and they previously announced these causes related to the initial fire have been eliminated: weather, natural causes, anhydrous ammonium, the rail car containing ammonium nitrate, or a fire within the ammonium nitrate bin. Water used during firefighting activities did not contribute to the cause of the explosion, according to TDI. Thus far only the only person charged with any crime who is connected to the fire and explosion, former West paramedic Bryce Reed, has been charged only with possession of an unregistered firearm but not any charge related to the fire.
TDI announced May 10 that approximately 250 leads had been developed and more than 400 people had been interviewed as of that date.
For more information, visit the TDI West resources page or the CSB Facebook page about the West incident.