"Texas Prohibits Nearly 70% of Its Counties From Having a Fire Code"

"Victoria County, a little slice of the Texas chemical coast, has nearly 39 million pounds of concoctions that can poison and nearly 11 million pounds that can catch fire."

"'A potential for a catastrophic event' is how one federal agency described the risk if they leak. A temptation for terrorists, added another.

But Victoria County cannot use a firefighter’s basic tool for preventing industrial disaster: a fire code.

Texas won’t let the county adopt one."

Randy Lee Loftis reports for the Dallas Morning News May 25, 2013.