GLENDORA — Nearly two-dozen cars derailed and a tanker transporting a toxic chemical burst into flames as a Canadian National Railway (CN) freight train passed through here Saturday afternoon.
The train, comprised of 139 cars and two locomotives, had 22 cars to derail, according to Keith Holloway, public affairs officer for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Office of Rail, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials, which is investigating the incident.
Six tanker cars transporting benzene, a volatile flammable liquid, were among those that derailed, according to a CN incident report. One of those cars ruptured and caught fire, perhaps due to an explosion, and burned for about 10 hours, sending thick black smoke billowing into the sky until it could be snuffed out.
Residents of the Village of Glendora, population 154, were ordered to evacuate as a precaution. The derailment occurred just south of the village, at railroad milepost 98.2.
Two CN employees — a conductor and an engineer — were onboard the train. Neither was injured, as the derailment occurred far behind their locomotives.
The early CN report did not indicate the train speed nor the track speed limit at that particular point of the line.
By Sunday, NTSB investigators were on the scene.
“The investigators are beginning the process of documenting the scene and examining the train and equipment involved,” said Holloway, who noted that a preliminary report will be available within 30 days.
“The preliminary report will contain factual information gathered during the initial phase of the investigation,” Holloway explained. “A probable cause of the crash along with any contributing factors will be detailed in the final report, which is expected in 12-24 months.”
Holloway said witnesses to the accident “or anyone who might have surveillance video or other information that could be relevant to the investigation” are asked to contact NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
Due to the incident, Amtrak trains using the same single track were delayed and passengers were transported by buses, the CN report states.
By Sunday, some freight trains were being diverted eastward onto the Grenada Railroad line pending cleanup and clearing of the CN line at Glendora.
Glendora residents reported hearing a “boom” at about the time of the accident, 2:27 p.m., some 30 minutes before they were ordered to immediately evacuate their homes by law enforcement and firefighters who went door to door in the village, which straddles the railroad track.
Many displaced Glendora citizens were sent to a temporary shelter established at the Webb Volunteer Fire Department, site of the former National Guard armory. The Sharkey-Hampton Lake Volunteer Fire Department facility also was designated as an evacuation center.
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While standing at the scene Saturday, Tallahatchie County Emergency Management Agency Director Thad Roberts was the first to tell The Sun-Sentinel that the flaming rail car contained benzene..
Tallahatchie County Fire Coordinator Linnie Maples said a pair of hazardous materials response technicians from Coahoma County Fire Department were dispatched to the scene of the accident.
Following the derailment, stationary cars from the train blocked both the north and south railroad crossings in Glendora, and first responders had to take a county back road to reach the scene of the accident, which occurred roughly a half-mile south of the village.
Fire trucks, water tankers and other emergency vehicles traversed a narrow strip of dusty turnrow separating the elevated track at the site of the derailment and fire from a soybean field located on the east side of the railroad.
Over the course of nine or 10 hours, Maples said about a dozen different fire departments sent equipment and personnel to help contain the fire, which sent a pale of thick, black smoke into the air. Most of it appeared to be carried by the wind in a southeasterly direction, away from Glendora.
Some 25-30 firefighting vehicles, a combination of pumper and water tanker trucks, supported the effort to spray down the flaming railway car, as well as to wet nearby railway cars laying on the ground at the base of the elevated train track, Maples explained.
The water snuffed out flames that had spread to tall grasses below the track but could not douse the chemical fire itself.
Maples said CN brought in a fire response trailer specifically designed to combat hazmat fires by utilizing water provided by local fire department vehicles and a specialized Class B foam applied at a high volume to basically smother the fire.
He said the fire was finally extinguished about midnight and the last of the local firetrucks left the scene about 1:30 a.m.
Taking cues from CN officials on-site, Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly at 11:43 p.m. Saturday sent the “all clear” message for Glendora residents to prepare for a return to their homes. The news, Maples recalled, was sent via a radio transmission from a firetruck at the scene of the train derailment.
Reciting the list from memory, Maples said Tallahatchie County firefighting units from Cascilla, Paynes, Philipp, Rosebloom, Sharkey-Hampton Lake, Tutwiler and Webb Westside responded to the fire scene.
He noted that other firefighting units from Leflore and Sunflower counties also contributed, saying that fire departments in Minter City, Money and Schlater sent four trucks apiece, while the Sunflower County Fire Department sent six trucks, two of which came from the Inverness Volunteer Fire Department, about 50 miles away.
In the immediate aftermath of the derailment, local officials attempting to assess the situation initially reported that 13 train cars had derailed. In its incident report, CN initially said 18 cars had derailed.
Glendora Mayor Johnny B. Thomas said the train derailment and fire seemed reminiscent of a 1973 train derailment and explosion that also occurred near the village.
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Holloway said NTSB investigations involve three primary areas: the human, machine and the operating environment.
As part of the process, investigators will gather the following information and records, he noted:
• Image recorders/event recorders (if available) from the locomotive
• Track maintenance/ inspection records
• Signal data
• Train car maintenance and inspection records
• Braking system inspection and maintenance records
• Railcars consist
• Weather forecasts and actual weather and lighting conditions around the time of the accident
• Review dispatch procedures
• 72-hour background of the crew to determine if there were any issues that could have affected the operator/ engineer’s ability to safety operate the train
• Witness statements
• Electronic devices that could contain information relevant to the investigation
• Any available surveillance video
Holloway noted that during the on-scene phase of the investigative process, the NTSB does not determine or speculate about the cause of the accident.
