Amid town's reconstruction, memories of destruction remain in West
McLENNAN COUNTY (CBSNewsTexas) - In the decade since the explosion in West, the once demolished playground welcomes kids again. West Middle School and West High School were rebuilt. What time can't replace are the vivid memories for those who were there on April 17, 2013.
David Maler is a McLennan County constable. That night, he was also a volunteer firefighter. "The building, it was pretty inflamed... it was really rolling." He had just arrived to help fight the inferno. "The blast hit me from this side and blew this eardrum out, and this one it was shredded," Maler said. "And I had cuts all down the side."
Maler woke up in a ditch, soaking wet from water that had spilled from a nearby fire truck. "When I got up, I could see three bodies close to me," said Maler. "One of them was alive." He said someone brought in a back board and he helped carry the man to safety.
Fifteen people died in the explosion; Maler knew most of them. What he still has trouble explaining though, is how that night changed him and his family. His mother, Jean Maler, was at home when it happened. "It was just like a sonic boom or something," she said. "And then we looked around and saw all the damage it had done to the house, bricks laying everywhere."
Describing the damage to her home is easier for Maler than trying to describe the damage to her children. All three of her sons were in West that night.
Kevin Maler was also a volunteer firefighter. He had gone to the station to pick up gear when the explosion happened. "He didn't get hurt, but he definitely doesn't like to talk about it either," said Jean Maler.
Michael Maler was the oldest brother. He was parked near the plant when the blast went off. "When he came home, there was no windows in my car," his mom said. "He was barefooted, he was trying to walk on glass and his feet were bleeding."
Mike Maler's visible injuries healed. The invisible wounds did not.
"He died a year later. He just... couldn't get over it," said his mom. Maler says she went to pick him up one day and found him dead just a few days before the one-year anniversary of the plant explosion. "He was just so depressed about it."
It's a painful reminder of what time and money could not fix. Now, a decade later, damaged homes are repaired, and new families are moving in. But for the Malers and so many others in this resilient town, their eye on the future will forever include memories of the past.
