A damaged fire engine sits amid debris down near a dock warehouse which appears to have only metal framework remaining.

Rescue workers search through debris near the Monsanto Building.

A first-aid and disaster relief station at night. Rescue workers, victims and medical personnel move about the area. Cots are set up in rows. On the far right, a man lying under a blanket is being examined by military personnel. The aid trailer has the numbers "32195" written on a window. Behind the trailer is a large building with some visible window damage.

The blast registered on a seismograph as far away as Denver, Colorado. Dockworker Pete Suderman remembers flying thirty feet as the blast carried him and several of the dock's three-inch wooden planks across the pier [11]. Nattie Morrow was in her home with her two children and sister-in-law Sadie. She watched the billowing smoke near the Monsanto plant from her back porch just prior to the blast. “Suddenly a thundering boom sounded, and seconds later the door ripped off its facing, skidded across the kitchen floor, and slammed down onto the table where I sat with the baby. The house toppled to one side and sat off its piers at a crazy angle. Broken glass filled the air, and we didn't know what was happening.” [11, 13]

The chief and 27 firefighters from the Texas City Fire Department were killed in the initial blast. At the time of the explosion, phone services in Texas City were not working because of a telephone operators' strike. When the operators learned of the accident, they quickly went back to work, but the strike caused an initial delay in coordinating rescue efforts.

Once operators began calling for help, rescue workers from all over the area began responding immediately. The U.S. Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Reserve and the Texas National Guard all sent personnel, including doctors, nurses and ambulances [5, 4]. University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston sent doctors, nurses, and medical students. Firefighters from Galveston, Houston, Fort Crockett, Ellington Field, and surrounding towns arrived to help.

The cities of Galveston, Houston and San Antonio sent policemen to assist the Texas City Police Department in maintaining order after the explosion. The U.S. Army flew in blood plasma, gas masks, food, and other supplies, provided bull-dozers to begin clearing the wreckage, and set up temporary housing for the survivors at Camp Wallace in Hitchcock [5]. The Red Cross, Salvation Army and the Boy and Girl Scouts of America sent a flood of volunteers who provided first aid, food, water and comfort to city residents. Volunteers from other local organizations – and others who were not part of any organization – felt compelled to offer what help they could.

There was no operational hospital in Texas City at the time of the disaster, so volunteers converted city hall and the chamber of commerce buildings into makeshift infirmaries. Many wounded were evacuated to John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, the hospital at Fort Crockett, and hospitals in Houston.