Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
The victims identities in the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion are still being processed. I have still not seen any “official” word on exactly who died and what their role was at the scene. Below you will find that there are currently believed to be 9 firefighters dead after the tragedy. The 9 firefighters represent several departments.
Previous coverage here and here
Fire Critic Facebook Page
Latest coverage by STATter911.com here
Information below compiled from here, here and here
Their “role” will be important in the future…right now, it really doesn’t matter to me. These souls were lost in an enormous tragedy that will have a small community rebuilding for years to come. The toll it had on the West Volunteer Fire Department is amazing in itself. From reports, it seems as though they had 5 firefighters die in the explosion; 11 firefighters injured and hospitalized; and 3 fire apparatus destroyed.
There will be “official” word soon. Until then, I will repost the names I posted in this article with the addition of 1 name, Cody Dragoo. I did not read anything about his death until today.
The people listed below are believed to be 12 of the 14 confirmed deaths in the blast.
West Volunteer Fire Department Members
- Morris Bridges, 41. Firefighter for West VFD. Fire Sprinkler Technician for Action Fire Pros.
- Cody Dragoo, 50. Firefighter for West VFD. Foreman at West Fertilizer Co.
- Robert Snokhous, 48. Firefighter for West VFD. Employee at Central Texas Iron Works.
- Doug Snokhous, 50. Firefighter for West VFD. Employee at Central Texas Iron Works.
- Joey Pustejovsky. Firefighter for West VFD. City of West Secretary.
In addition to those above, the people below also are believed to have died in the blast. Their role, response, and department they were responding for are not exactly known at this time. Some of the people below may NOT have been responding as Fire and/or EMS personnel. It is believed that some (possibly 4) of the people below were responding as EMS personnel even though they are volunteer firefighters.
- Perry Calvin, 37. Firefighter for Mertens and Navarro Mills VFDs. Student at Hill College Fire Academy.
- Jerry Chapman, 26. Firefighter for Abbott VFD.
- Jimmy Matus, 52. Owner of Westex Welding in West, Texas.
- Cyrus Reed. Firefighter for Abbott VFD. Worked at Waxahachie plant.
- Buck Uptmor, 40’s. Owner of a fencing company and lived near West. *listed some places as a Firefighter for West VFD.
- Kenny Harris, 52. Dallas FD Fire Captain.
The Texas Line of Duty Death Task Force Facebook Page posted this:
The final count for LODDs in West, Texas is 10 Emergency Service Workers and 2 honorary Emergency Service Workers.
Donate to NFFF West Texas Firefighter & EMS Fallen Hero Fund
