Hundreds of people had to evacuate theirafter a train hauling ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire early Thursday, but authorities are hopeful that the quick response and cold weather will help limit the impact of this latest crash.
The major freight railroads have said they plan to add about 1,000 more trackside detectors nationwide to help spot equipment problems, but federal regulators and members of Congress have proposed additional reforms they want the railroads to make to prevent future derailments. A group ofsaid at a news conference Thursday about their rail safety legislation that the Minnesota derailment reinforces the need for reform.
Walz said"the response from Burlington Northern has been unprecedented, in my opinion" with the railroad getting in touch with state and local officials before 6 a.m.BNSF officials said 22 cars derailed, including about 10 carrying ethanol, and the track remains blocked, but that no injuries were reported due to the accident. The cause of the derailment hasn't been determined.
Darwin Heida, who is a former volunteer firefighter for over 20 years, said the evacuation was"very orderly" and that emergency personnel went door-to-door to relay the message. But it was unnerving to see flames above the tree line as they left their home. "What you see right now is cars on top of each other, they’re burning, and it’s a scary situation. ... You see the tanker car burning, your first thought is that that’s a big bomb waiting to explode on that. I hope you know that the safeguards that were put in place ... is to make sure they don’t explode," Walz said."And they are punctured, they are leaking. The good news probably is with the relatively frozen ground, that the ethanol will burn off.
But officials said the tank cars involved in Thursday's derailment were the upgraded triple-hulled DOT-117 cars required by those 2015 rules that are designed to better contain the chemicals in an accident. The railroad said ethanol was the only hazardous material aboard the train.