The Firefighters Of West, Texas

Dreher is watching coverage of the fertilizer plant disaster:

West is a town of 2,500 people, which makes it about the same size as my own town. Here’s an interesting thing: Piers Morgan asked the woman he was interviewing by phone if her husband, Marty, is a professional firefighter. No, she said, he’s a volunteer. Everybody in the West Fire Department is. Marty is an air-conditioning and heating installer. The plant was on fire, and he ran to help put it out. And even though there’s still a great deal of danger there — toxic fumes, chance of second explosion — and his house is destroyed, and some of his friends and colleagues have been killed, Marty still won’t come home. Because he’s needed. 

Earlier tweet reax on West here.