there will be investigations by mclennan county s.o. that being said, i don't have a hard number yet. i can confirm that we are still missing several firefighters that were on the scene fighting the fire. the explosion occurred while they were actively trying to put that fire out. there was a law enforcement official on that scene, as well, that was working with the fire department in some type of capacity. until we know for sure who those individuals are and specific numbers, i can tell you that they range anywhere from three to five, as far as the number of firefighters that are missing. the casualty numbers, i don't have a hard number to get to you at this point. they are still working on that. i can tell you that it is estimated anywhere from 5 to 15 at this point. i know that's a rough estimate. but that's the best i can give you. i know system of you have questions. what i will ask you to do is please let me call on you so we don't shout over each other. it's very difficult to hear, as y'all know with the generators and such. that

always open our arms to everybody that passes through here on i-35 and mclennan county texas. our hearts go out to the unbelievable tragedy tonight. we have the gas company turning the gas off to the area when the explosion happened. firefighters are coming from hundreds of miles away. right now, we are overflowing with help. we do not need more help, as far as that goes. tomorrow morning, the mayor will speak again. right now, we have a tremendous amount of injuries. we do have confirmed fatalities. the number is not current yet. it could go up by the minute. we're in there searching the area right now. making sure it's safe for the other people around there. and the firefight reers are try to be safe and go back in. the wind blowing and changing in the area. it's still smoking and little, small flames. they don't want to get the firefighters injured in the blast area. i was there. i walked through the blast area. i searched some houses earlier tonight. massive. just like iraq. just like the murray building in oklahoma city. you can imagine what kind of damage we're looking a

involvement not only from mclennan county which we are seeing around the. additional counties in the around living better here as well helping huge job for you there is a law enforcement command post set up. a command post set up they have. the law and. they are working with the local media ology here they should know we have very significant strong south winds throughout the. some more we're being civil shoaling morning the winds are going to switch the north and are going to continue to be a strong thing at a whole lot or maybe a big one still when she. still in the process if we give them full. to hell and also go get it not be better but the blast we're trying to get in shape for the night is still the same we sure got worried. for you. i cannot confirm it all i don't know the dark was born there i have not heard that you're anywhere let me do this i know you love a few questions about it already i'll try to answer what i can but you're going to get a lot of i'm not sure yet from let me know long as we don't. get to bring somebody over here just so. that

the waco area we had numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area mclennan county limestone field bosky and all the surrounding areas so we've had a great turnout. to come out to help us get through this tragedy that we've had in this small community. so that was the fun when he was actually at the scene he arrived at the same shortly after the blast his first time they can pretty horrific he did say that fifty to seventy five times his blood damage as a result of that huge blast at the lies a planned and we understand danny that officially two people have been killed as a result of this but the expectation is the death toll will be much much higher than. well andrew that's right this is this is what happens basically after all. these kinds of explosions you get the number of the number of confirmed if it is. well they need to identify that they want to be able to identify them before they actually confirm the deaths so that when when the call spore in of course lots of lots of people. i'm sure calling and trying to find out about their about their friends about th

to that end i am declaring mclennan county a disaster.ergency declaration from the president. i also want to commend the hard work put in again by chief kidd and his team at the texas department of emergency management. they quickly responded to this disaster. it is unfortunate for us that we face both natural and manmade disasters all too often in this state, but the bright side of that is we've got the finest emergency management team in this country. and it is very important to stress that at this point much of the information that we have is still very preliminary. and more information is coming in all the time. i want to take a few minutes to provide an overview for the state's response. throughout the night there were state agencies on the ground to assist. they will remain there as long as they are requested and needed. texas department of public safety is securing the area for law enforcement personnel to conduct the business and to maintain public safety. texas task force one and two as well as the texas national guard are assist

texas governor rick perry declared mclennan county a disaster thursday. "last night was truly a nightmare scenario. anyone that grew up like your dad west know that this tragedy has most likely hit every family. it's touched what the blast felt like. took your breath away. and you. >> >> pam: hawley are the chemicals released last might consider dangerous? >> well the chemicals the hygienist ammonia use to make fertilizer can be harmful. because it doesn't have any watcher when you are exposed to it in high levels. it could be quite toxic or even deadly to your body. concern for the first responders who are still there. the townspeople what lost their homes or sting in makeshift spaces and churches and public buildings. because the town so small they pretty much knew each other. >> pam: think you calling. residents now? and how long at an interfaith memorial in boston today, president obama described those behind the bombings as "small, stunted individuals." and he told bostonians that the bombers picked the wrong reports. kron4- dot-com. website. kron4 d

i don't work for mclennan county. those guys are tied up at this point so we're helping every bit that we can. it's not just us. there are numerous agencies, law enforceme enforcement, fire, first aid, responders, red cross, federal agencies, lots of folks are here and west has seen a tremendous outpouring of support in a tremendous community involvement. they have got together with each other, are leaning on each other and are very supportive. what i will try to give you at this point is a little bit more than we had before. i ask you again to bear with us as this is a bit of a tedious process down there. they are being very thorough. they are taking their time in their searches and i assure you they are not going to move fast because you all want more information. they are going to move at the speed they need to. we will try and keep you updated with what they're doing but understand that being in law enforcement 32 years i know not to bother those guys. i know what they're doing. those guys and gals out there are i

the waco area we had numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area mclennan county stone field boss key and all the surrounding areas so we've had a great turnout. to come out to help us get through this tragedy that we've had in this small community. the explosion at the texas fertilizer plant has highlighted shortcomings in the u.s. system of industrial risk management the fertilizer plant reported that it only held around twenty four kilograms of and hydro ammonia far less than the twenty tons believed to have ignited and the report stated no end of file explosive rist there is a possible scenario in visitor was a ten minute release of ammonia gas but without any casualties but this blow to shoot houses all around eighty kilometers away resulting into a rising number of injuries and deaths ark washington correspondent says safety at the plant there had been questioned before. this fertilizer plant that exploded in west texas on wednesday night was fined by the environmental protection agency in two thousand and six full failing to have a risk legend plans that me

interesting views regarding his state's geo political security he told this to a recent meeting of the mclennan county chapter of the republican party on their requires ongoing vigilance is the reality of the state of texas is coming under a new assault but also far more dangerous than what the leader of north korea threatened when he said he was going to add austin texas as one of the recipients of those nuclear weapons. that we're getting is the threat from the obama administration and his political machine. you heard about the democratic party not the authoritarian state threatening to reign nuclear warheads on major texas cities that have a crowded party is the biggest threat to the lone star state these days that's like compelling and the very very ugly bob davis during a recent broadcast of his radio program the davis' never show even a sort of talk show host let loose on the issue of gun control as expected david strict strongly criticized president obama and senate democrats for supporting new firearm regulations but he saved his most passionate attacks weirdly for the parents of newtown victi

the waco area we had numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area mclennan county limestone field boss ski and all the surrounding areas so we've had a great turnout. to come out to help us get through this tragedy that we've had in this small community. much as we've heard about the actual plan to having possibly ammonia within day how large is the contamination of the area at the moment and can you smell anything in the air can you tell us what's been said in terms of that. could not smell metering in the area at this point we have. an assessment from crews environmental crews are on that but we do know that they were headed to the scene to try to get a better idea of the risk of blood again and say that they were evacuating the pre-wired area specifically because of the potential of the. toxic smoke and there was some concern that perhaps you know with the wind changing directions that they might have to evacuate the more people. on if that is the case but it's certainly something that they are keeping a very close eye on and hope to learn more about today goes

interesting views regarding his state's geo political security he told this to a recent meeting of the mclennan county chapter of the republican party one thing that requires ongoing vigilance is the reality of the state of texas is coming under a new assault but also far more dangerous than what the leader of north korea threatened when he said he was going to add austin texas as one of the recipients of his nuclear weapons threat that we're getting is the threat from the obama administration and his political machine. you heard about the democratic party not the authoritarian state threatening to rain nuclear warheads on major texas cities that have a tragic part is the biggest threat to the lone star state these days that's a compelling idea and a very very ugly bob davis during a recent broadcast of his radio program the davis ever show even a sort of talk show host let loose on the issue of gun control as expected david strict strongly criticized president obama and senate democrats for supporting new firearm regulations but he saved his most passionate attacks weirdly for the parents of newtown

the waco area we had numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area mclennan county limestone field bosky and all the surrounding areas so we've had a great turn out. to come out to help us get through this tragedy that we've had in this small community. the explosion at the texas fertilizer plant has highlighted show coming from the u.s. system of industrial risk a management cynism urgency planning document the fertilizer plant reported having over twenty four kilograms of a high dose ammonia in the hand and the report stated no and file explosive risks the worst possible scenario is invisible was a ten minute release of ammonia guest spot without any casualties but this blast sure causes a run to eighty kilometers away resulting in a rising number of injuries and deaths are g.'s gammage again she's calling the off to most of the disaster from washington d.c. than it is so why did the authorities calculate to the risk of correctly. well first of all we have to say we heard the local police say unless they prove it was an industrial accident like a chemical accident

the waco area we had numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area mclennan county limestone field boss ski and all the surrounding areas so we've had a great turnout. to come out to help us get through this tragedy that we've had in this small community. actually that was of the press healthy by the spokesman for the texas department of public safety ramona how is everybody else holding up the. when we first arrived in the town of west texas it appeared that many of the neighbors and a lot of the first responders were still in shock still amazed at the number of people who were hurt by the pictures earlier that they mean that there were dozens of people at a tree center once we arrived a couple hours later. area had been completely cleared and all one hundred plus patients had been transported. it has been a very very strong effort by local law enforcement but as the mayor noted earlier and the press conference this ordeal is far from over and and as i speak to you we're in the middle of a thunderstorm here and here in central texas rain coming down pretty good the

the waco area we had numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area mclennan county lines don't feel basi and almost around areas that we've had a great turnout. to come out to help us get through this tragedy that we've had in a small for me. so that was a spokesperson for the texas department of public safety really giving his account of the problems now that face that community and also the problems of trying to contain the fire but also rescue the many many people that have been left under rubble and i'm on we're talking at the moment on who's naughty correspondent on the ground in the town of west from i'm not sure what your impression at the moment there's been a confirmed number of deaths nine as we believe but speaking to other journalists there and presumably you have spoken to militancy services what is the fear what what realistically are people expecting this death toll to reach. described it as a nuclear blast and he lamented the fact that one town woke up in the morning that dozens of their neighbors who they want to work with and live next to would not

the waco where we had numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area mclennan county limestone bosky and all the surrounding areas so we've had a great turnout. to come out to help us get through this tragedy that we've had in this small community. well let's just get the latest now from a correspondent who was at the scene in west their mangling though romana thank you for your time again you're the same we hit the police sergeant said that there are confirmed fatalities but hasn't given a number local media were reporting was as high as seventy can you give an estimation of of the number of fatalities or in your opinion is it still too early to say. they are still searching in the collapsed buildings which were near the blast site the presumption is that there may be some bodies still in the rubble a very dangerous area given the fact that there is a tile container containing chemicals there still at the plant which firefighters are keeping an eye on. dozens of people confirmed definitely to have been taken to the hospital. authorities are still holding on holding o

again, mclennan county s.o.ng with their resources will start going from house to house and working any of what we'll term at this point questionable deaths that may have occurred from the explosion. i'll take some questions from you. again, let me call on you, please, and make sure that you talk loud enough so i'm able to hear. >> sergeant, why call this a crime scene from the beginning? why not hedge it a different direction and just say you don't know? >> better to label it a crime scene and then it turn into an industrial accident than to say at a later time -- we always start out looking at worst case scenarios. that's what we're doing here. i can tell you, i have heard no indications that this was anything other than an accidental fire. however, the investigators in this case have not been able to get inside and see, determine what the source of the fire was, where it came from, whether it was intentionally set or whether it was not. they don't know. >> is there anything to indicate from the radio traffic

the waco area we had numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area mclennan county limestone feel bosky and all the surrounding areas so we've had a great turnout. to come out to help us get through this tragedy that we've had in this small community. was who had the real concerns about toxins emanating from this plant robert j. could some hiroshima piece in-situ says chemical contamination is a very real possibility. where fertilizer as we know is extremely combustible so it's been used in bombs and so it's manufacture is extremely delicate and can easily if handled wrong or if handled in safely can lead to explosions so we have to assume at this point that it is such a chemical explosion that happened there plant when you're handling chemicals like this there is a possibility that there can be chemical contamination that could that would need to be cleaned up in the aftermath of the explosion so they'll undoubtedly be extensive monitoring of the areas around the plant in order to make sure that whatever chemicals have been spread around can be cleaned up to reduce

the waco area we had numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area mclennan county limestone field bosky and all the surrounding areas so we've had a great turnout. to come out to help us get through this tragedy that we've had in this small community. so even he did give an eyewitness account there to give you an idea of the destruction that was close but just at the moment danny can you tell us about the treatment the people are receiving and all the hospitals meting like a hospice on the one way but also one for their field in haste and do we know much about how they are being able to cope and what sort of treatment they hunted to give to people also have injuries people have received. well you would expect the injuries that we we heard are you know chemical inhalation this is this is just one one of the one of the things that people are suffering from there so. being told to prepare for hundreds more excuse me not a not hundreds but a very large number of injured we are given the number of around one hundred people injured this is by the department. of public sa

mclennan county disaster to get us the ambulances and helicopters, everything we could here.ave a lot of people still trapped in houses. but that's dangerous material. that's hazardous material. we can't get to them right now. >> have you ever seen anything like this before? >> i was with the disaster medical assistance team, fema. but it's overwhelming for a town of 2,400. we have three ambulances. and there are literally hundreds of people hurt. i know -- i haven't been there. but i'm very worried that my ambulance on the scene, those personnel are probably deceased. i think some of the firemen might be deceased. i was inside a building quite a way from there. most of the houses are in bad shape. the building is destroyed. >> what would you describe this as? >> a bomb. an atom bomb. >> what's your emotional state right now? >> overwhelmed. trying to do the best i can. they're trying to sit me down. i'm bleeding. i have a job to do. there's people hurt more than me that i need to get. i can't communicate with my people. our radios aren't working. i don't know where my people

. >> i'm declaring mclennan county as a disaster.tay on the ground as long as they're requested and needed. >> anita foster is director of the north west chapter of the american red cross who's been hard at work. anita, what's the priority for the red cross and tell us what you're doing? >> we had different priorities last night than we do today. our number one job last night were to make sure that people who needed to get out of the neighborhood get out and had a place go. today we were able to get into the neighborhoods and actually get our first look at what people experienced and what they lost and what they might need going ahead. so throughout the day today our disaster mental health teams have been on the grounds, making sure we're talking with families not just about their physical needs but what they're going to need in terms of food and water but what they're going to need in such a traumatic event, not just for themselves but for their children. it's also unseasonably cold in texas. around 45 degrees most of the day today.

. >> to that end i am declaring mclennan county a disaster. we'll request an emergency declaration from the president. i also want to commend the hard work put in again by chief and his team at the department of emergency management, they quickly responded to this disaster. it is unfortunate for us that we face both natural and manmade disasters all too often in this state. but the bright side of that is we've got the finest emergency management team in this country. and it is very important to stress that at this point much of the information that we have is still very preliminary. and more information is coming in all the time. >> there are a lot of questions, obviously, about what happened and how that happened in texas last night. here in boston the memorial service, which the president attended, wrapped up just a short time ago. it was a very poignant beautiful service i thought watching it honoring those killed and wounded in monday's twin bombing here in boston. ♪ from sea to shining sea >> the focus was on healing and the spiritual wou

. >> suarez: perry is asking the federal government to declare a state of emergency for mclennan county which west lies. for more about the tragedy in texas, we are joined from west by b.j. austin of kera public radio. b.j., is the fire out? is the scene under control? are emergency service personnel able to answer the area where the blast occurred? >> we really don't know if the fire is completely out. that was briefing about an hour ago and that question was asked and the official -- the sheriff, deputy -- chief deputy sheriff of mcchren unanimous county said he did not have knowledge of that nor did a state trooper jason reyes who was also conducting the briefing. so we're not exactly sure. i did have a conversation with a state representative who this morning was able to tour the site and the neighborhood and he said that it's gone. it's -- the plant is no more. >> suarez: has anyone been recovered in an area close to the blasts in the last several hours? >> officials are being very, very careful with this whole thing of recovery, of discovery and whatever and they're backing off of