The tight-knit communities of Bucksnort and Hickman County, Tennessee, are reeling after a catastrophic explosion tore through the Accurate Energetic Systems (AES) explosives plant on the morning of October 10, 2025. The blast, which thundered across the rural landscape at 7:45 a.m., left 16 people dead and reduced an entire building on the sprawling 1,300-acre campus to rubble and soot, according to both CNN and local news outlets. As drone footage revealed the devastation—nothing but charred remains and twisted metal—families, friends, and neighbors gathered at prayer vigils, struggling to come to terms with the magnitude of their loss.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis, his voice breaking with emotion, addressed the press on October 11, confirming that no survivors had been recovered and that the search for the missing had come to a grim conclusion. "We’re moving to recovery," Davis said during a news conference, pausing at times as the weight of the tragedy pressed on. The sheriff, who has served the region through previous disasters, urged the community to come together: "We need our communities to come together and understand that we’ve lost a lot of people. This don’t only affect those families, it runs deeper … this could be people that you grew up with," he said, as reported by CNN.
The investigation into the cause of the explosion is still in its early stages. Authorities from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), led by Tyra Cunningham, assistant special agent in charge at the Nashville division, emphasized that every effort is being made to conduct a thorough, science-based inquiry. "Every effort is being made to conduct a thorough, methodical and science-based investigation to find the answers that led to this tragedy and the answers that this community deserves," Cunningham stated at a Saturday evening news conference. Investigators are painstakingly clearing the debris "foot by foot," starting from the perimeter and moving inward to where they believe the blast originated. Controlled explosions are being conducted as part of the evidence-gathering process, and employment records are being scrutinized.
Brice McCracken, special agent in charge at the ATF’s National Center for Explosives Training and Research, explained the meticulous approach: "Once we get inside there, then we’ll start looking at what’s remaining, what is in that scene. The team will document every piece of evidence that we recover as we move from that outside to the inner explosive scene." Cunningham added that if criminal activity is uncovered, those responsible will be held accountable, but if the tragedy was accidental, the lessons learned would be used to prevent future incidents.
The AES facility, a major employer in the region with around 80 staff—many of them local residents—has a history that adds another layer of complexity to the story. The site, which consists of five production buildings and a quality lab, manufactures military and demolition explosives. According to records cited by CNN, the company faced federal fines in 2019 after an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection found violations related to personal protective equipment, employee exposure to contaminants, and inadequate safety training. The company paid $7,200 in fines after contesting the findings and reaching a settlement. Since 2016, AES has reported 46 work-related injuries but, until this week, no deaths. In 2024, the company reported five injuries and one illness.
For many in Bucksnort and the surrounding communities, the plant is more than just a workplace—it’s an extended family. Sammy Creech, a 78-year-old former employee who lives just 12 miles from the site, described the victims as "good people" and close friends. "The blast shook our house," Creech told CNN. He recounted the sleepless night that followed, haunted by the faces and voices of those lost. "I might’ve slept three hours last night, off and on. I could see their faces. I can hear their voices," he said. Creech, who had worked at AES for years, used to eat lunch daily in the very building that was destroyed. He explained that employees would typically change shifts around the time of the explosion, which likely contributed to the high number of casualties.
Creech’s connection to the plant goes beyond friendship. In 2021, he sued AES for wrongful termination and age discrimination after being blamed for a 2020 fire in the same building that exploded. "There was a few times there was some slurs and comments about my age," Creech alleged. As a diabetic, he said he was criticized for taking snack breaks to manage his blood sugar, and supervisors were instructed to replace him for being "too old and too slow." The company disputed these claims, and the case was dropped after mediation. "It hurt my feelings. It bothered me a great deal…how they were treating me," he recalled. The fire investigation did not include a statement from Creech, and he felt shamed by the dismissal, saying, "I tried to talk and reason with them…they seemed to enjoy the dismissal. I was very ashamed that I was fired."
As investigators continue their work, the human toll is felt most acutely by the families left behind. Among those believed to have perished is Melissa Dawn Stanford, a 53-year-old production supervisor. Her niece, Brittany Kirouac, shared her family’s devastation in a statement to CNN: "To say our family is devastated is to put it lightly. We are honestly at a loss for words and grief is not linear. In the past 24 hours I have seen: anger, sadness, bargaining, denial, and acceptance. Not only from our family, but from the families who surrounded us waiting to hear news about their loved ones. At this time, we are just hoping to bring her home to say goodbye."
In the days following the explosion, vigils and prayer gatherings have become a focal point for collective mourning. At a chapel in McEwen, local resident Janie Brown sought solace among neighbors. "It’s going to be a sad, sad day in our community for a while," she said, urging outsiders to give the community time and space to heal. "The time is not to worry about why it happened. It’s to worry about who it happened to, the families. The victims were loved by their families and by their communities … Everybody knew them."
The tragedy has stirred memories of another disaster that struck the region just four years ago. In 2021, catastrophic floods swept through Humphreys County, killing 20 people and leaving a trail of destruction. Sheriff Davis, reflecting on the community’s resilience, said, "Both our counties was hit pretty hard in ’21." He emphasized that plans are already being made to provide counseling and support, with services available at local schools beginning Monday, October 13.
As the investigation grinds forward and the community leans on one another, the scars of this disaster will remain long after the last piece of debris is cleared. But for Bucksnort, Hickman County, and all those touched by the AES tragedy, the focus now is on remembering those lost and supporting the families left behind.
