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LONGVIEW, Wash. — <\/span>From his living room window, Washington state Sen. Jeff Wilson can see the paper mill where a chemical tank ruptured<\/a> this week in Longview, killing 11 people. He used to perform work there as the owner of an environmental cleanup company, and when he heard the sirens go past, he called his son, who works on the larger industrial site, to make sure he was safe.<\/p>\n \u201cI personally have been inside that tank and near that tank many times,\u201d said Wilson, who has lived in Longview for 56 years. \u201cI can assure you that we all know somebody there. \u2026 The casualties are our friends and neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n The tank, which contained more than 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of a mixture used to break down wood for making paper, collapsed Tuesday morning at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. The rupture expelled a flood of caustic chemicals powerful enough to overturn pickup trucks and damage buildings at the site.<\/p>\n The chemical disaster<\/a>, one of the deadliest U.S. workplace accidents in recent decades, has struck at the heart of a community where generations of families have worked in local mills. Longview itself was founded by a timber baron to support the first mills established there, and over its roughly century-long history, residents\u2019 lives have become intertwined with the lumber and paper industries.<\/p>\n Amid immediate concern about supporting grieving families, there is also worry about what the accident could mean for the future of the plant: It provides crucial jobs in an industry that once powered the forested region but has dwindled in recent decades.<\/p>\n The plant’s parent company, Tokyo-based Nippon Paper Group, said in a statement that it was assessing the accident’s impact on its financial performance.<\/p>\n \u201cLast night at the vigils, people who work in mills told me that they’re proud of their jobs and they’re proud of their work, and they don’t want to lose it,\u201d U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, whose district includes Longview, told reporters Wednesday. <\/p>\n Residents who spoke with The Associated Press similarly highlighted how important those jobs are for the city.<\/p>\n \u201dIf you\u2019re a waitress, a grocery store worker, a teacher, a paraeducator as I was for 30 years \u2014 every walk of life here knows somebody and is related to somebody from these mills,\u201d Cindy Stiebritz said in the antiques store where she volunteers.<\/p>\n Stiebritz said her husband\u2019s parents met while working at the lumber company owned by the city\u2019s founder, Robert A. Long.<\/p>\n \u201cThose mills, that is the backbone of this town,\u201d Stiebritz added. \u201cYou feel like you\u2019ve lost part of your family.\u201d<\/p>\n Longview\u2019s industrial zone lies along the Columbia River and hosts timber, paper and chemical businesses. Many residents in the city of nearly 40,000 can see the facilities or the steam from the boilers from their homes, or smell the sulfuric odor of the pulp and paper industry.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s mill history is also imprinted on its downtown, where R. A. Long Square serves as a central landmark and gathering place, including for the vigil held after the disaster. A park around a man-made lake, another project of Long, features a burst of greenery where pedestrians enjoy its walking paths or the nearby tree-lined streets.<\/p>\n Authorities said the cause of the tank’s collapse is still under investigation. The facility, which dates to 1953 and employs about 1,000 people, makes material for tissues, printing paper, cups, plates, cartons and other goods.<\/p>\n