( CNN ) -- A paramedic who responded to a horrific , deadly fertilizer plant explosion in West , Texas -- and who later spoke at a memorial for its victims -- was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for conspiring to make a pipe bomb , a prosecutor 's office said . Bryce Reed pleaded guilty earlier this fall to conspiracy to possess an unregistered destructive device and attempted obstruction of justice . Reed , 31 , was sentenced on those charges Wednesday afternoon in Waco , according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney 's Office for the Western District of Texas . He will be subject to three years of supervised release after getting out of prison and must pay a $ 2,000 fine . Reed was among the emergency workers who responded to an ammonium nitrate explosion that killed 15 people -- most of them firefighters and paramedics -- and devastated West , a town about 20 miles north of Waco and 75 miles south of Dallas . He was vocal afterward as well , speaking to reporters and at a memorial service at Baylor University for the blast 's victims . In a previous statement , Reed 's lawyers stressed that neither the charges nor the resulting plea agreement `` have anything to do with the tragic explosion '' that damaged dozens of homes , two schools and a nursing home and was so big that seismographs registered it as a small earthquake . DA sees no link so far between weapons possession and Texas blast . Yet the blast did play a part in his arrest , according to the federal prosecutor . Reed 's home was among those affected by the April 17 explosion , prompting him to stay in a hotel in West . Before that , authorities say , he 'd bought pipe bomb components and had them shipped to his house . There , with the help of another person , he built a place for the pipe bomb , storing it `` inside two ammunition cans . '' On April 26 , believing authorities going through explosion-damaged West homes might find the pipe bomb , Reed asked two people to go to his house , `` retrieve the ammunition cans and bring them to him , which they did , '' reports the U.S. attorney 's office . The paramedic then packed the cans and bomb-making materials in a box to give to another man , telling him to `` get rid of this . '' This man took the box and put it in a spare bedroom in his Abbott , Texas , home , finally opening it on May 7 , the prosecutor 's office said . `` He immediately notified the McLellan County Sheriff 's Office , who took possession of the items , '' the U.S. attorney 's office added . It was then that Reed became a focus of investigators , who saw the materials , including galvanized metal pipe , a fuse , coils of metal ribbon and several bags of chemical powders . Reed chose to plead guilty , his lawyers said in October , `` to accept full responsibility for what he believes is his role in the allegations against him '' and to avoid a long trial . `` Finally , ... Mr. Reed believes that continuing to draw out this process will be a distraction to the most important issue , the losses suffered by the heroes , friends and loved ones in the West community , '' the attorneys added .
Reed is sentenced to 31 in federal prison , a prosecutor 's office says . He had pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess an unregistered destructive device . Bryce Reed was among the first responders to a deadly blast at a Texas fertilizer plant . His lawyers have said the charges are unrelated to that incident , which left dozens dead .