What is Texas City disaster?
[[File:Txcitydisasterboat.jpg|thumb|250px|The SS Wilson B. Keene after it was destroyed in the second explosion of the disaster]] The '''Texas City Disaster''' of 1947 was a major and very deadly incident. It happened on Wednesday, April 16, 1947, and was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions to hit the [[United States]]. The incident began as a late morning fire on the [[France|French]] vessel SS ''Grandcamp'' which had been docked next to [[Texas City, Texas|Texas City]] and nearby [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]]. But then, its almost twenty three hundred ton cargo of [[ammonium nitrate]] detonated, <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.local1259iaff.org/report.htm|title=Texas City Disaster Report|website=www.local1259iaff.org|access-date=2019-08-11}}</ref> creating several massive explosions that caused serious damage. The incident killed 581 people. The Grandcamp, a [[World War II]] Liberty ship that had been converted to a French merchant vessel, was taking on a load of ammonium nitrate fertilizer at a quay next to a complex of Monsanto chemical factories, offices and labs. The ship's carpenter smelled smoke in the No. 4 hold around 8 a.m. on April 16 and found that a few bags of fertilizer were on fire. He tried dousing it with a few buckets of water, then a [[fire extinguisher]]. When he called for a hose, the ship's captain forbade it, fearful that water would destroy the $500 worth of cargo that was on fire. The skipper ordered the hold closed and its fire-suppression valves opened to release steam. Ordinarily a good idea, but not in this case. Ammonium nitrate decomposes at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The fire grew. The captain ordered his crew to abandon ship.Firefighters tried spraying the burning ship from the dock. Spectators, including schoolchildren crowded the quayside to watch the action. Bad idea, since the Grandcamp exploded at 9:12&nbsp;a.m. The captain and 32 of the Grandcamp's crew died; 10 somehow survived. More than 200 people were killed on the quay. The blast was heard 160 miles away.