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Commissioner of Education Michael L. Williams issued the following statement following the explosion in West, Texas.

“Our sympathies go out to our friends in the West Independent School District as they wrestle with the aftermath of Wednesday’s massive explosion. I’ve spoken to district leaders and told them TEA will provide as much flexibility and support as possible as they work to reassemble their schools and community. I’ve been very impressed with the strength and resolve these local leaders have shown as they work to bring normalcy back to the lives of their children. I also appreciate all the support the Region 12 Education Service Center in Waco and surrounding districts are providing West ISD.”

StateImpact Texas, always a great news resource: West, Texas: Up to 15 Fatalities Estimated, Fire Under Control

According to Gov. Rick Perry, the activated state resources include:
Texas Department of Public Safety: Helping secure the area for law enforcement personnel to conduct business and maintain public safety.

Texas Task Force 1 & 2 (TTF1 and TTF2): TTF1 urban search and rescue team, including damage assessment personnel for collapse structure assessment, and a search and rescue K-9 Team. TTF2 search and rescue task force has also been deployed.

Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS): Ambulance buses, two medical incident support team members and mental health and other resources have been deployed. The DSHS State Medical Operations Center has also been activated.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ): Providing air monitoring and technical assistance.

Texas Military Forces (TXMF): The 6th Civil Support Team, with approximately 21 personnel, has been deployed to support of first responders. Additional resources and personnel from the Texas National Guard Homeland Response Force (HRF) remain on alert and ready to assist if needed.

Communications Coordination Group (CCG): Activated to provide additional emergency communication resources and/or support as needed.

Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT): Two 300-gallon fuel trailers from the TxDOT Bryan District have been sent to West, along with four personnel and four trucks to assist with mobile fueling; 18 personnel and nine trucks are closing city streets to block off the affected area. Other available sites for refueling are the TxDOT Waco District Office and TxDOT Hill County Area Office in Hillsboro.

Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC): Providing support personnel.

Texas Railroad Commission: Monitoring pipelines in the affected area.

Texas Education Agency: Working with the local school district to coordinate any immediate needs. Schools in West are closed for the remainder of the week.

Texas Forest Service: Incident Management Team assisting the Texas Division of Emergency Management with planning and logistics.

Texas Department of Insurance: State Fire Marshal’s Office is assisting on-site. Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) is also actively assisting individuals affected by this tragedy. Two members of TDI’s Consumer Protection Division will be on site to assist individuals as soon as it is safe to do so.

'MY GRANDMA CALLED ME AND SAID MY HOUSE EXPLODED'

Jason Lucien, 15, was at church when the explosion happened.

"My grandma called me and said my house exploded," Lucien said. "I was thinking, 'what do I come home to?' My house is nothing."

Lucien, a freshman at West High School, said he knew about five people who died in the explosion.

according to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot, any businesses trying to profit from price gouging after the explosion will be sued by the state of texas

"At this time we can confirm that we do have fatalities," said Sgt. Jason Reyes with the Texas Department of Public Safety in Thursday afternoon's press conference. "We do not have an exact amount."