Months afer catastrophic explosion, responders in West reminisce on

what made their emergency eforts successful in dire circumstances

By: Megan Grindstaf
In an open talk on Oct. 1 about their personal
experiences with the West fertilizer tragedy, Sgt.
W. Patrick Swanton and reporter Sarah Mervosh
showed that there is common ground to be found
between local authorities and the media. As the
public information ofcer for the Waco Police De-
partment, Swanton acted as a liaison between the
emergency response force and the media directly
afer the explosion and through the following days.
Mervosh, a staf writer for Te Dallas Morning
News, covered the afermath, focusing predomi-
nantly on human-interest stories. Although their
roles in aid afer the explosion took very diferent
forms, as Swanton and Mershov shared their witness
to the tragedy with Baylor Students, it became clear
that the two had one particular skill in common:
the ability to deal with people in the midst of chaos
and disaster with respect, honesty and transparen-
cy. Mervosh, like all reporters in this increasingly
digital age, works on assignments with extremely
short deadlinesas Mervosh herself put it, a story
is always due 5 minutes ago. Her West coverage was
no exception. People across the country wanted to
know what had happened in West and what would
become of its residents as soon as possible. Mervosh
found that the best way to expediently gather and
publish accurate information while navigating the
tightly knit community of West was to be transpar-
ent about her goals as a writer. When you explain
it to people, I think theyre far more willing to talk
to you as opposed to [saying] Im from the media,
give me your information, Mervosh said. Likewise,
Swantons position as media spokesperson for the
Waco Police Department requires him to be upfront
and honest about whatever situation he encounters,
including the West explosion. Swanton understands
that media persons have a job to do and a story to
cover, whether he is forthcoming or not. In fact, he
fnds that it behooves him to cater to the questions
of the local media. Doing so gives the police depart-
ment more control over the information available
to the public and builds a trustworthy relationship
between the authorities and the local news sourc-
es.If you dont feed the tiger, its gonna go out and
hunt, Swanton said. Legally, give them what you
canit goes so far. Te rapport between local me-
dia personnel and emergency responders, exempli-
fed by Swanton and Mervosh, made the immediate
response and outpouring of aid to the West com-
munity possible. People across Texas and across the
nation were able to send money, supplies, time and
prayers to the West residents, because they had ac-
cess to the kind of accurate, timely information that
journalistic and authoritative transparenc yields.
Jackie Kennedys Secret Service Agent, Clint Hill,
relives the moment he knew something was wrong
and his attempt to get to the car and shield the Pres-
ident and First Lady. Te Day Kennedy Died cap-
tures the minute-by-minute frantic rush to the Dallas
local hospital, Parkland Memorial, the mass chaos that
broke out among the crowds, and the manhunt by law
enforcement looking for the suspect in the shooting.
Te documentary also captures stories from the police
ofcer that questioned Lee Harvey Oswald, as well as
the Dallas Homicide Detective Jim Leavelle who was
shackled to Oswald when he was killed two days later
following the death of the President. Te Day Kenne-
dy Died also shows the moments following the news
that the President had died, the swearing in of Lyndon
B. Johnson as President on Air Force One with Jack-
ie Kennedy at his side, and the trip from Dallas Love
Field airport to Washington, DC. Poe followed up the
presentation with a brief question and answer session.
Poe: A second look at
Kennedys assassination

It is a story
that will not
go away; it
has a lot of
resonance in
Texas
specifcally
Dallas
-Charles Poe
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Photo courtesy of ABC news
P2 THE CORRAL, FALL 2013