Second town hall held to help answer questions for residents in wake of deadly explosion in NW Houston

HOUSTON – A town hall meeting was called for residents and victims of a massive explosion at a northwest Houston manufacturing facility Friday.

The meetings was called by the Kwok Daniel law firm to help residents affected by the blast get valuable information on how to seek reimbursement for damages to their homes.

"Who do we contact? Where do we even start?” said homeowner Mayra Remigio.

Attorney Rob Kwok said his firm is currently representing 115 residents that are now suing Watson Grinding and Manufacturing.

Kim Laake is one of those Plaintiffs, she said the damage to her home was extensive.

"All of the ceilings fell down, all the windows busted out, all of the doors came off the hinges,” Laake said. “I had a water pipe burst in my room so my room is drenched with water.”

Others had questions about injuries and services available to them.

KPRC 2 reached out to Watson Grinding and Manufacturing to find out if the company was doing anything for the residents but were referred back to a statement put out on Friday:

“Watson Grinding and Manufacturing experienced an incident in the early hours of Jan. 24, 2020, that resulted in the fatalities of two of our employees and impacted our operations.

"We are saddened by the tragic passing of our coworkers, and our deepest sympathies are with their families for their profound loss. We are working diligently to address the situation and cooperating with the federal, state and local authorities investigating the accident. We are extremely grateful for the brave efforts of first responders who were on the scene immediately, and we will continue to give our full cooperation and support to their efforts.

"Our hearts go out to the families and businesses impacted by this incident and to our community. At this time our immediate concern is the safety and wellbeing of everyone in the area and our employees. Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.”

Kwok said she has filed a restraining order against the company which will allow the firm the opportunity to get into the plant once the investigation is complete to conduct his own investigation.

Kwok is also planning to walk through the neighborhood Tuesday with residents to get a better look at all the damage.


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