BREAKING NEWS

Obama to honor firemen killed in Texas fertilizer blast

By REUTERS

APRIL 25, 2013 08:40

WACO, Texas - US President Barack Obama will assume a familiar role consoling family and friends of disaster victims on Thursday when he speaks at a Texas memorial for firefighters killed in a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant.

Just a week after he traveled to Boston following the Marathon bombing that killed three people, he will speak at a memorial on the campus of Baylor University in Waco to honor the 11 first responders who died in the blast.

Organizers expect thousands of first responders to attend the service at a college basketball arena that seats more than 10,000 people. A procession of firefighters and some 300 fire trucks from across the country will be held before the service.

The April 17 explosion at the West Fertilizer Co plant obliterated a residential section of the small Czech-American town of West, Texas, 20 miles (32 km) from Waco. It killed 14 people and injured some 200.

The town of 2,700 people had 33 volunteer fireman. Five died when they responded to a fire alarm, and the plant exploded 20 minutes later. Four paramedics from nearby towns who were also firefighters, and were attending a class in West on the night of the disaster, rushed to the scene and were killed.

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