Three crew members of local Air Evac LifeTeam participated in the emergency relief efforts at the fertilizer plant explosion site in West, Texas Wednesday night.
According to Air Evac 52 Program Director Bobby Brinson, there were 12 air ambulance teams that responded to the scene to air lift the most seriously injured patients. Brownwood flight team members included pilot Tim Nolin, flight nurse Delette Gazaway, RN, and paramedic Jackye McAnn. Pictured above is the Air Evac helicopter at a previous response.Brinson stated that the crew was called into action around 6:20 PM Wednesday. A mass casualty incident scenario was enacted, after the fire evolved into an explosion causing huge amounts of devastation to the town of 2800 people.
Communications to the crew included the number of helicopters responding, the disaster they were entering and that it involved hazardous materials. Brinson stated that the crew was never in danger, as the safe zone of the triage area and landing zone was upwind of the blast so that chemicals in the air would not cause contamination to these areas.
Brinson stated that there were 12 helicopters that transported patients to hospitals such as Providence and Hillcrest hospitals in Waco, Scott & White in Temple, Parkland in Dallas and a hospital in Fort Worth. Injuries were varied, all blast injuries, such as burns, broken bones, and lacerations; however no specific patient injuries or conditions could be discussed due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Of these helicopters, 4 of them were from the Air Evac fleet across the state.
Because local hospitals were being inundated by ground ambulance patients and these medical helicopters could get patients to distant hospitals in a matter of 45-50 minutes, some were taken as far as the metroplex. Brinson’s crew took their patient to a Fort Worth hospital because of serious injuries that did not require a burn unit but that could care for significant blast injuries.
When asked if the crew was fearful of what they would be entering at the disaster site, Brinson stated that training kicks in and that training these days is very unified across the agencies through statewide and national training standards of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Homeland Security and Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service(TEEX).
“Delette and Jackye went on and on about how well the emergency responders and emergency management were coordinated in West,” said Brinson. “They wanted me to convey this to everyone. There was no confusion.”
Emergency responders have to learn to disconnect themselves and respond to the emergency at hand and not their own personal emotions or problems at the time in disasters that strike close to home.
“It’s surreal, the West area is very much like Brownwood, Brown County, with volunteer fire departments made up of businessmen and family members; we all know each other and these people don’t take into consideration their own safety,” explained Brinson. “They were responding and may not have had homes or known where their spouses were at the time they were called into action. It’s tremendous to think of their dedication and perseverance.”
One of the teams affected personally and professionally was the Air Evac base 51 which is located in West, approximately 800-1000 yards from the explosion. 
Pictured above is the devastation to the Air Evac base office which sustained heavy damage as did its hanger and the Air Evac helicopters present. One was on the helipad and the other had been sitting in the hanger being maintained, according to Brinson. This base was located very near to the nursing home that was across the street from the fertilizer plant and the flight crew was actually at the base when the explosion occurred. Windows were blown out, ceiling tiles and everything on the walls fell, according to Brinson.
“I don’t know how they weren’t injured. Our brothers and sisters in West are very vulnerable right now,” said Brinson. “Some of the crew members lost their homes. They know all the emergency responders in the area, so they were impacted not only professionally but personally.
Brinson stated that in times of emergencies, agency and business affiliations are put aside and a group effort to save lives is the goal. The number of casualties is still unknown, with many areas of the devastation yet to be searched as of Thursday afternoon.
The Brownwood flight crew returned to their home base around 2:30-3:00 AM and was not able to get any rest until about 4:00 AM according to Brinson.
“It was a long night for them. Because our patient was pretty serious, the crew had to clean and restock the helicopter with supplies,” said Brinson. “They probably didn’t get to bed until about 4:00 AM.”
Brinson stated that there are 21 Air Evac helicopters across the state of Texas, ready to respond anywhere. Because Brownwood is centrally located, base 52 is often called into action.
“It’s nice to know we have resources that can respond,” said Brinson. “We don’t like to respond to disasters, but we were glad to be able to help.”
Brinson again stated that emergency responders in West needed to be recognized.
“It was amazing how well they were operating in such horrible conditions,” said Brinson. “Hats off to them for doing a very good job with what they had to deal with.”
For those wishing to donate to the victims, Brinson stated that it is very important to make contact with relief efforts in West before starting a drive for donations. He explained that many times things such as clothing are donated, which take up valuable resources of manpower to sort through, when the actual need may be life necessities such as non-perishable items such as bottled water, sports drinks, adult and baby diapers, baby formula, personal necessities, blankets, pillows, baby wipes and pet food. Finding out what is needed helps make relief efforts more efficient and effective.
Donations are being collected at the following locations in Brownwood:
TSTC Brownwood located at 305 Booker Street, will take donations in the lobby. For more information, contact Brian Kight at 325.641.3911 or brian.kight@tstc.edu.
Guardian EMS is collecting donations at Station 1 in Brownwood on 4th St. and at Station 2 in Early off of Early Blvd. Both locations are available any time due to Guardian EMS is a full 24 hour service. Monetary donations are also welcome at the Guardian EMS stations.
Heart of Texas EMS station at 1102 Early Blvd. in Early will have collection hours of 8 AM – 5 PM Friday with donations being delivered on Saturday. More donations may be taken again next week if necessary.
Howard Payne University will collect donations through Monday morning, April 22, at the university’s Office of Admission (adjacent to the Mabee University Center) before being delivered to West on Monday afternoon. For financial donations to the relief effort, please contact Stephen Sullivan, HPU admission counselor, at (325) 649-8026. Donations of money and gift cards will be accepted on behalf of Texas Baptist Disaster Recovery. Checks should be made payable to Texas Baptists. All donations collected will go directly to the West relief efforts and are not considered donations to the university.
