Fertilizer makers put blame for West blast on city

A star sign with the words, West Is The Best, hangs on a fence that surrounds the perimeter of the property where a fertilizer plant once stood, Thursday, April 17, 2014, in West, Texas. Today marks the one year anniversary of the explosion at a fertilizer plant that killed fifteen people, including 12 volunteer firefighters and others responding to the fire, and more than 200 were injured. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
A star sign with the words, West Is The Best, hangs on a fence that surrounds the perimeter of the property where a fertilizer plant once stood, Thursday, April 17, 2014, in West, Texas. Today marks the one year anniversary of the explosion at a fertilizer plant that killed fifteen people, including 12 volunteer firefighters and others responding to the fire, and more than 200 were injured. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

WACO, Texas (AP) — Two fertilizer companies sued following the massive explosion in West last year that killed 15 people are claiming the small town is partly to blame.

El Dorado Chemical Co. and CF Industries contend in court filings that West failed to properly train first responders and had lax protocols in place to battle the April 2013 blast.

Sources reports that motions filed in state court in Waco seek to designate the city of West as a “responsible third party” in lawsuits filed against the companies.

Most of those killed in the West Fertilizer Co. explosion were firefighters and first responders.

The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office concluded in a recent report that firefighters weren’t prepared for the dangers of the blaze that led to the explosion.