THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

The body count in West, Texas stands at 14 to date. There may be others once all the rubble is searched and cleared away but it is anticipated that most of those missing will be located alive and elsewhere soon.

Three days after the West Chemical and Fertilizer Company plant erupted in an explosion that destroyed part of this small town north of Waco, the search of dozens of buildings surrounding the plant was complete on Saturday, but the magnitude of the blast’s human toll had barely started to settle in. Officials said at least 14 people were killed in the explosion, which occurred shortly before 8 p.m. on Wednesday after a fire broke out at the plant for reasons that are still unclear and that remain under investigation by local, state and federal authorities.

The majority of the dead were firefighters from five fire departments and one ambulance service who had rushed to the scene to battle the blaze and started to evacuate people when the plant exploded. Eleven firefighters in all were killed, the worst disaster for Texas firefighters in more than 60 years. On April 16, 1947, fires and explosions aboard ships docked in Texas City killed hundreds of people — including 26 firefighters — in the worst industrial accident in American history, according to the Texas State Historical Association. The blast in West happened the day after the 66th anniversary of the Texas City disaster.

In the days after the explosion, it was not that disaster that many people here talked about as they tried to comprehend the scale of the loss, but another, more recent one. What Sept. 11, 2001, means to firefighters in New York City is a measure, albeit on a smaller scale, of what April 17, 2013, means to firefighters in central Texas. The ceremonies at the rubble in West, the stories of the people who hurried toward the flames as others hurried away, the stunned disbelief and raw emotion that have settled over volunteer fire stations for miles — all of it has evoked to many the imagery of 9/11...

The department had five engines and trucks; now, it has two. On Friday night, trucks and firefighters from Waxahachie and other towns were in the fire station, covering their day-to-day duties so that members of the West department could recuperate and grieve among themselves and their loved ones.

“They lost one-fifth of their organization,” Mr. Ondrasek said. “Many of the officers within the organization either died or are in the hospital. It all brings home how dangerous the job is that you don’t get paid to do. You’re serving your community because this is what you want to do and feel like you need to do. And you can pay with your life.”

And the fertilizer company did nothing wrong because in Texas there are no rules to break.