WEST, Texas Explosion - What Went Wrong?

The explosion at the WEST, Texas fertilizer plant is a study in the dangers we face today. The question is twofold: "What went wrong?" and "How do we Prevent This in the Future?"

What went wrong is that residences and a school were too close to a sitting time bomb. Experts recommend houses be set back a certain distance for every ton of explosive material on the plant premises. This was not done.

As a result insurance estimates are that damages will exceed $100 million and that 140 homes were destroyed in the blast, according to this article. Obviously, we need to separate people from these dangerous situations to avoid the loss of life and damages inflicted. 

The West firefighters, from reports I've seen, did not have knowledge of the exact chemicals and that water would likely cause a reaction. For their safety, the fire should have been allowed to burn as everyone was evacuated.

As to the second question: "How do we prevent this in the future?"  Easy: Keep plants away from people and schools. And hardened the buildings' weakest link - their glass. Once a blast wave hits glass and blows it in, the internal pressure then blows apart the building. People are riddled with glass shrapnel. Only something like Armor Glass Security Film would prevent that damage and destruction - it is rated for a Level 2 explosion, not just hurricanes and heat.

This learn from this nightmare and work to make sure it doesn't happen again. Our prayers go out to the families of the victims in WEST (and Boston).

Armor Glass has made a contribution to the Salvation Army for WEST. We encourage others to do the same at this link: https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/texas/WestExplosion

18th Anniversary of Oklahoma City Bombing Today...

Today is the 18th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City truck bombing that killed 160 people including children in a day care center. The bombers were two white Americans, not a Mideast jahadi. It proved that a terrorist can be domestic as well as foreign. It is the mindset of the terrorist, not his color or race, that makes the difference. In Boston, the bombers have connections to Russia's problems in Muslim Chechnya.

There is only one thing that people can do -- look at their security situation and upgrade it. Alarms are good. Cameras are good.

Yet none of that keeps glass from flying during a break-in or from wind-borne debris strikes during a hurricane. A camera or alarm won't keep your glass from becoming thousands of tiny glass shrapnel when hit by a blast wave during an explosion. Glass is still the weakest link and therefore biggest threat to public safety that needs to be addressed.

It is addressed by making ALL glass safety glass -- by attaching security window film to "armor the glass" and contain it. Then it avoids a breach that leads to structural failure and internal damages. Instead of thousands of fragments the glass comes off as one entire panel, if it comes off the frame. We put it on a simple double pane window for a lady one summer. 5 days later a guy tried to break in that window. He failed. Burglary avoided. Insurance Loss avoided. Feeling of violation avoided.

I can't explain it if you don't look at the 2 minute video on the Armor Glass home page to see how it works. These threats of human intrusion or hurricane-and-blast force hurling wind-borne debris through your puny glass windows. Remember the story about the Three Little Pigs and the two who built houses of straw and wood became dinner for the wolf....

The Boston bombing has demonstrated is that the blast wave hurts people further away from the center of the blast by shattering glass BLOCKS away! In Oklahoma City, windows in over 150 buildings around the city were blown out by the concussion of the tons of ammonium nitrate in the back of a rental truck parked in the street next to the Murrah building. It's described in the Chapter "Predicting 9/11 and Running Against the Hammer" in "Better Times Ahead April Fool"

Hazard mitigation should be part of EVERY American cities operating manual.

Without it, we aren't prepared for the next hazard event. And that could be anywhere, anytime. That is how life is. We can't change things from happening but we can prepare for them to minimize the impact.

That's what Armor Glass does - it protects you and your family by armoring your buildings' weakest link. Don't leave home without it...

In the next explosion or hurricane or break in, it is protecting you, your family, your staff, your future, while cutting energy and paying for itself. What is there not to like about that?

2013 Hurricane Forecast is IN...

The 2013 Hurricane forecast is IN - expect an "above average" hurricane season.

"Top forecasters predict an above-average 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, with 18 tropical storms forecast, of which nine will be hurricanes"

Keep in mind that the 2012 prediction was LOW. "The team's forecast in 2012 -- 10 named storms and four hurricanes -- was far below what actually occurred: Last year, 19 storms formed, including 10 hurricanes. This included Hurricane Sandy, which slammed the Northeast coast in October, killing dozens and leading to billions of dollars in damage. Three straight Atlantic hurricane seasons have had 19 storms."

And now the BAD news: "This forecast is for the Atlantic basin, which includes the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Klotzbach said that of the nine predicted hurricanes, four should be major hurricanes — categories 3, 4 or 5 — with sustained wind speeds of 111 mph or greater."

That means the 2008 Hurricane IKE - which was a high CAT 1 (or a low CAT 2) was SMALL compared to what we could see in the months ahead. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.

Hurricans destroy buildings by blowing out windows which break when hit by flying debris. That causes uplift on the roof and structural failure. Armor Glass security film provides a protective barrier to keep out hurricane force winds even if the window is hit by debris (up to a 4.5 lb Large Missile).

Be prepared!

Breaking Glass - How EASY It Is...VERSUS Armor Glass Security Film.

Here is a very SHORT video that shows what happens when regular, bare glass is hit by a brick, or hail, or a hammer - the result is the same.

Then see what happens when the same glass has a protection Armor Glass Security film on it...

"Burglar" was NASA engineer Tom Diegelman (I thought he looked like a perfect burglar instead of a rocket scientist)! Produced by Michael Fjetland.

Galveston Hail Knocks Out Windows

A huge storm last night hit Galveston with BASEBALL size HAIL. It knocked out windows from cars and houses.

This is another application for Armor Glass Security Film - it would keep the hail from breaching the glass. Instead of a big hole with wind and rain pouring inside, the Armor Glass film would keep it out even if the window was broken.

Instead of running around looking for a piece of wood or cardboard to cover the hole - and wondering if someone will use to to enter the premises before a window guy can replace it -- Armor Glass is on the job 24/7 until you get it fixed. Then you have us put on replacement film and you are good to go again.

Armor Glass Security Film just makes so much sense. One wonders why more people don't know about it or why they keep using that Brand X inferior solar film that provides no breach protection?

Here is a link to the TV story on the hail damage.