Lack of proper prevention practices led to loss of life
Incidents like the devastating explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant are exactly why we push the idea of planning for crisis management so hard, and so often. As was suspected when the federal investigation began months ago, the plant has been found neglectful in its crisis prevention, a fact that almost undoubtedly cost human lives and damaged or destroyed, among others, a nursing home and two schools.
The AP’s Sam Hananel and Plushnick-Masti have more details:
The Texas company that operated a fertilizer plant where a thunderous explosion in April killed 15 people is facing $118,300 in federal fines for two dozen serious safety violations, including a failure to have an emergency response plan, officials said Thursday.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which had not inspected the facility since 1982, said West Fertilizer Co. committed violations that included unsafe handling and storage of two fertilizers, anhydrous ammonia and ammonium nitrate, a volatile chemical that investigators believe contributed to the massive blast that leveled swaths of the rural town of West, Texas, and registered as a small earthquake.
“It can’t happen to us.” Those five seemingly innocuous words take lives every single year. Accept that you can and will encounter crises, and when it happens you’ll be far better prepared to mitigate the impact.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com