( CNN ) -- The blast was so catastrophic , it destroyed Marty Marak 's home , killed his dog and leveled houses for blocks around . But he had no time for panic or grief . Marak darted right toward the danger , even as the threat of a second explosion loomed . Like the rest of the firefighters in the town of West , Texas , population 2,800 , Marak is a volunteer firefighter . He does n't get paid to battle flames or save lives ; he actually runs a heating and air conditioning company . What we know about the explosion . But he risks his life just to help his tight-knit central Texas city . On Wednesday night , the valor of the volunteers was put to the ultimate test . Firefighters were already battling an enormous blaze at West Fertilizer Co. when an earth-shaking explosion blasted windows and walls off homes . Rolling fireballs leaped into the sky , and residents 50 miles away felt the force of the blast . West Mayor Tommy Muska , also a volunteer firefighter , said `` it was a like a nuclear bomb went off . '' Deadly fertilizer plant blast devastates Texas town . The explosion devastated Marak 's family . `` It demolished both the houses there , mine and my mom 's , and it killed my dog , '' Marak 's wife , Cheryl , told CNN 's Piers Morgan . But Marty Marak took off , trying to extinguish the blaze before it could trigger a second explosion at a nearby fertilizer tank at any moment . A flood of other volunteers also scrambled to the scene , including firefighters and emergency medical personnel from hundreds of miles away , the Texas Department of Public Safety said . With her house annihilated , Cheryl Marak took cover in her brother 's home , about two miles away from town . For hours , she wondered if her husband was still OK. `` For all those people who are still there ... responders that remain ... you just worry about everybody , '' she said , her voice cracking . What is anhydrous ammonia ? The dread was amplified when the director of the city 's emergency management system said two EMS personnel and possibly three firefighters were killed . Finally , shortly before midnight , Cheryl Marak was able to speak with her husband and hear he was OK. `` I 'm begging him to come home , to let me come and get him ... but he said he ca n't . He 's going to stay with his guys , '' Cheryl said . So the excruciating wait continued . Rep. Bill Flores , whose district represents the town of West , said the courage of Marak in the face of loss is n't uncommon . `` That 's just the way that we Texans are wired , '' he said . `` Even though we face our own personal tragedies from time to time , we still know that we have to go help others -- and then assess our own tragedies later on . ''
All firefighters in West , Texas , are volunteers . Marty Marak runs a heating and air conditioning company as his day job . He kept fighting the fire even after the blast killed his wife and destroyed his house . Firefighters and medical personnel from hundreds of miles away also came to help .