The victims of the monster blast that obliterated a Tennessee bomb factory include a senior manager, a young father and a devoted dad-of-seven whose home burned down in a recent house fire, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Experts are relying on DNA to confirm the names of workers who were inside the building levelled in Friday’s explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems (AES) in McEwen, 70 miles west of Nashville.
But a family member of Billy Baker, a 59-year-old departments manager, confirmed to the Daily Mail that he is among the 16 presumed dead.
Baker, a keen fisherman and fan of the Tennessee Volunteers college football team, leaves behind multiple children and a wife of 33 years, Angie, 54.
Another man likely killed in the tragedy was James Cook, 56, a father of seven who worked in the plant’s maintenance department.
‘James was a good man. You could ask him to do anything for you, and he would do it,’ his father-in-law Eddie Tyler, 75, told the Daily Mail.
‘He went at everything 100 percent. If you had him for an employee, you were very lucky.’
Cook’s family cheated death in January 2022 when an electrical blaze broke out in the den of their $260,000 home.
James Cook – whose family had a near-death experience when his son Tristan discovered an electrical fire in their home – has been identified by the Daily Mail as one of the three victims killed in the Tennessee bomb factory explosion
In 2022, nine-year-old Tristan was sitting on the couch with his two younger siblings when he heard a sudden popping sound and smelled smoke. Realizing something was wrong, he bravely got up to investigate
Tristan was confronted by a wall of fire when he walked into the room. His actions were credited with saving his family
His then-nine-year-old son Tristan went to investigate when he heard a popping sound and smelled smoke.
When Tristan spotted the fire, he yelled at his mom Tracey and siblings aged three, five and seven to flee the house which was quickly engulfed by flames.
The dramatic evacuation was captured on CCTV camera and Tristan was hailed a hero in news reports – including a feature in People magazine..
‘I was so proud and so blessed that he got us all out,’ Tracey, a 52-year-old nurse, told WTVF in the aftermath.
Last Friday morning Tracey raced to the rural AES plant as soon as she received news of the 7.45am blast that shook homes and businesses within a 20-mile radius.
‘I called her and she was there at the plant. She was distraught. It was more shock than anything else, but Tracey is the strongest person I know,’ a close friend said.
‘I’m not sure their youngest, Chloe, really understands what’s going on. They are such sweet kids, it’s heartbreaking.’
Cook was remembered by friends as a devoted family man who attended church, helped his neighbors and never missed his shift at AES.
The families of Billy Baker, a 59-year-old departments manager, and longtime employee Jeremy Moore, 38, both confirmed that they were among the 16 employees at Accurate Energetic Systems (AES) presumed dead
Experts are using DNA analysis to confirm the identities of workers who were inside the building leveled by Friday’s explosion in McEwen, 70 miles west of Nashville
Before and after images of the factory reveal the devastation left behind by the 7.45am blast, which completely wiped the facility off the map and shook homes and businesses within a 20-mile radius
His wife’s friend said he was accustomed to the risks of working with powerful industrial explosives on the 1,300-acer site which is also used to manufacture claymores and mines for the US Military.
‘There’s not a lot of jobs around here. I’m assuming he made decent money because he was raising seven kids on his income, so he had to be doing something right,’ she said.
‘Until we know more, this is just a terrible tragedy.’
A third worker likely killed in the explosion was longtime employee Jeremy Moore, 38, his family have confirmed.
‘The last I heard from him, he dropped his daughter off with me and was headed to work,’ his tearful mom, Ava Hinson, told Fox 17.
‘He’s my only son, and he would tell you that he is my baby boy. He lives right next door to me, my big old country boy.’
More than 300 experts from the FBI, ATF and other agencies continued to comb the blast area – approximately half a square mile – for clues over the weekend.
Rapid DNA tests are being carried out on site after officials warned there was no possibility of locating survivors.
Pray for the AES Families’ is written on a concrete barrier near the entrance to the Accurate Energetics Systems plant
Hickman County Sheriff’s officers stand guard and check cars entering the devastated blast site
People console each other during a candlelight vigil Sunday honoring the victims of a blast at the explosives plant
‘We will work until there is no work left to be done to try and find the answers that need to be found,’ Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said Sunday.
AES, founded in 1980, said the explosion was under ‘active investigation’.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, coworkers, and community members affected by this incident,’ the company said in a statement.
‘We extend our gratitude to all first responders who continue to work tirelessly under difficult conditions. We will provide updates as more verified information becomes available.’
