Agencies from across the state are helping the people of West, Texas recover from the devastation of last week’s fertilizer plant explosion, and several representatives from the Brownwood area are assisting in that effort.
One group, the Salvation Army of Brownwood, arrived on Saturday ready to help offer food and water to victims. Volunteers have taken vacation days from their normal jobs to help victims in West with life necessities and to offer an ear to listen to those grieving or who lost everything.According to Paul Coghlan, a Salvation Army volunteer from Brownwood who is helping in the relief effort, the disaster area looks like a post apocalyptic movie and the silence is very eerie. As of Saturday, the residents who lost homes or had severely damaged homes were allowed into the disaster area at a rate of 20 per day, during the hours of 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Coghlan stated that there is a law enforcement officer on every block to keep looting from occurring. Power and other utilities are still out in the area.
“It is very sad. Our Major had a briefing at 9:00 p.m. tonight (Sunday) and caught us up on the progress and it’s going very well. I saw several injured people and many are in shock,” stated Coghlan. “It’s very sad but I’m glad we are providing a helpful service at this tragic time in their lives. Law enforcement is awesome down here; they are very nice to us and extremely helpful.”
Donations have been coming in from across the state. The Salvation Army warehouse is filling up fast with food and clothing according to Coghlan.
“The situation is really bad. The outpouring of supplies is unbelievable,” he said. “There’s new clothing, baby food, toys, anything you can think of. And if what someone needs is not there, we figure out a way to get it for them.”
The Salvation Army was able to offer food, water, snacks and show that they care about the people affected. The organization has been working hand in hand with other agencies including the Department of Public Safety, ATF, Red Cross, Baptist Men, the Freedom Riders and several other organizations. There have also been therapy dogs walked throughout the area to help victims. Johnny Gooch, the first Red Cross Volunteer from Brownwood, was sent Monday to West to help with logistics of in-kind donations to the Red Cross. Johnny is the fifth volunteer out of the West Central Texas chapter of the Red Cross.
“We (the Salvation Army) have been running three emergency trailers and a concessions truck with snacks, Gatorade, diapers, baby food, even cat and dog food. We are feeding everything,” said Coghlan. “These have been the most touching days, after meeting the people and hearing their stories.”
Coghlan stated that some of the people he encountered were looking for their pets or just needed to talk. One such woman told a story about trying to get her husband to sell an old car before the blast. She was glad he didn’t because she was at the carport when it occurred and the car being there actually saved her life.
The coordination of the emergency management team in Bosque County has been amazing said Coghlan, near perfection, in fact.
“They are doing a wonderful job, they advised us tonight that feeding numbers don’t matter, it’s that we show these people that we care and are here to help them any way we can. Many people I met just wanted to talk and feel normal again. It’s a very rewarding job and I feel I get more than I give out.”
Coghlan stated that being part of this relief effort has prepared the Brownwood volunteers for any disaster situation like this in Brownwood.
Life will eventually get “back to normal” for the city of West, but it will take time according to Coghlan. City street crews were beginning the task of sweeping the streets of debris and utility companies were working hard to restore power and decontaminate water lines. Coghlan stated that he and other volunteers will continue their efforts most likely through the first week of May. Some will stay the entire time, others such as Coghlan will return on the weekends to help when they can.
Pictured above is the destroyed apartment complex across the street from the fertilizer plant. Below is a photo gallery of more images from the area. Photos contributed by Paul Coghlan.
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