West Residents Gather To Remember Victims Of Fertilizer Plant Explosion

By Kennedi Walker, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

April 16, 2023

WEST — April 17, 2013 is a day that will always be remembered by many in West, Texas. It was just before 8 p.m. on a Wednesday night when everything changed.

The explosion at the West Fertilizer Company killed 15 people and injured hundreds. Twelve first responders died that day, including volunteer firefighter Cyrus Reed, who was one of the first on the scene. Ten years later, his sister Sarah relives every moment from that evening.

"I was that person crying on the plane and the flight attendants had to sit with me for a while... I remember the blast video on repeat walking through the airport," Sarah Hobbs said. "He left me as an only sibling."

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