P L AY I N G
WITH
FIRE
AP PHOTO/JOE BERTI
Long before it captured national headlines as the scene of
a lethal industrial explosion, the fertilizer plant on the edge
of this central Texas town had been a community fixture, a
crucial supply depot for farmers and ranchers who worked the
surrounding pastures. ΒΆ No one seemed to regard it as a threat.
By CHRIS KIRKHAM and BEN HALLMAN