I wrote a diary in 2013 about the continued lack of regulation in regards to storing explosive materials in town centers in the wake of the West, TX explosion which killed more than a dozen and pretty much leveled a town:
Athens is a quiet East Texas community where the town square is still active and a place where residents enjoy the simple life.
Outside of an old building that some say needs to be torn down, there's a different type of activity. Several times a week, a chemical truck pulls up in front and unloads something into the building.
Nothing illegal is going on. In fact, what's inside is typically harmless.
We watched a truck driver unload 25 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer
The driver said he's been delivering to the building for 15 years.
One reason residents may not have known a hazardous chemical was being stored inside is because the building's owner, East Texas Ag Supply, failed to notify state health officials until after the ammonium nitrate explosion in West.
But that's not the only concern.
The roof and interior of the Athens building is mostly wood, just like in West. National Fire Protection Association guidelines urge caution when storing ammonium nitrate in wooden bins.
Not only is the building/roof mostly wooden, but its full of holes, is barely structurely sound and really that's not the worst of the issues because the building burned to the ground, forcing portions of the town to be
evacuated:
Firefighters evacuated the town square in Athens Thursday afternoon because of a large fire a block away that burned down a facility that stores ammonium nitrate fertilizer
Thursdayâs fire started about 5:30 p.m. according to resident Billie Morse. Itâs uncertain what sparked the fire, but images on social media showed large flames shooting into the air. The building at 105 W. Larkin St. is owned by East Texas Ag Supply.
Originally it was pointed out that:
When News 8 started asking questions last month, Athens Fire Chief John McQueary said he was aware of what was in the building and that the building was safe.
He later told the local newspaper "...that ammonium nitrate is not going to go off; we're going to be able to put that out."
The chief provided News 8 with only one fire inspection record from last November. No hazards were noted, only the need for extinguishers and a "no smoking" sign.
There was also no mention of tons of chemicals posing an explosion risk inside.
and...
The building owner declined an on-camera interview, but told us he feels the building is sound and is not a fire hazard.
Once again how one 'feels' trumps the science of wood+fertilizer+Texas Heat = Not so good much like how one 'feels' about their gun trumps other peoples dead children, or how the 'feeling' that climate change is not real trumps all rational discussion. I for one feel fed up with the lack of common sense governance. But looking at the comments in the wfaa article about the fire, people seem to get what they ask for.