WACO, Texas - President Obama told the families and friends of the 12 firefighters who were killed in a massive fertilizer plant explosion near here last week that America had them in their prayers, even as so much of the nation's attention was focused on the tragedy in Boston.
Obama joined Texas officials and thousands of first responders and community members to memorialize the firefighters, whose flag-draped coffins were in the front of the auditorium at Baylor University, about 20 miles from the site of the plant explosion in the city of West. A poster of each of the fallen firefighters - ages 26 to 52 - was placed before each coffin.
Authorities haven't identified the cause of the blast, which killed three others and came just two days after bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon.
"While the eyes of the world may have been fixed on places far away, our hearts have also been here," Obama said. "And to the families and neighbors grappling with unbearable loss, we are here to say, you are not alone; you are not forgotten. We may not all live here in Texas, but we're neighbors, too."
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The president added that "no words adequately describe the courage that was displayed on that deadly night" but that what he can do "is offer the love and support and prayers of the nation."
It was the second time in as many weeks that Obama had to console a grieving community after a tragedy, following a trip to Boston last week. Before he spoke, videorecorded eulogies quoted the tearful grandparents, parents, wives, relatives and friends of the fallen. At Baylor, the wails of crying babies and young children echoed through the Ferrell Center.
"I cannot match the power of the voices you just heard on that video," Obama said. Alluding to the Books of Psalms, he said: "You have been tested, West. You have been tried. You have gone through fire. But you are and will always be surrounded by the abundance of love."
Obama arrived by helicopter from Dallas, where he was attending the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. On the trip over, Obama's helicopter circled the site of the fertilizer plant several times - a site of collapsed structures and charred ground. After the service, the president was scheduled to meet with families and friends of the firefighters.
