catlover79
10-10-2007, 04:46 PM
This is only a couple of towns away from me - my church is in this town, I drive by these tracks all the time!! I work only 2-3 miles from the scene. :eek: My sister also lives and works in this area, and missed having to be evacuated by about a half mile.
PAINESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — About 30 cars in a freight train hauling some toxic chemicals derailed Wednesday, setting off a large, smoky fire and leading to the evacuation of potentially hundreds of people. No injuries were reported.
Authorities were evacuating an area within a half-mile that includes businesses and homes where more than 1,000 people live, said Leslie James, deputy clerk for the Painesville police department.
The fire was under control, but authorities were letting it burn itself out because the train was carrying toxic chemicals, fire officials said.
The biggest concern was a tank car of liquefied petroleum gas, officials said. Firefighters were keeping water on that car to keep it cool, said Ken Gauntner, Lake County administrator.
About 30 cars in the 112-car freight train derailed, said Garrick Francis, a spokesman for the freight operator, Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX Corp. Eight cars carried potentially hazardous materials, but no toxic inhalants, he said. Most of the material was ethanol.
The cause of the derailment was being investigated.
Federal and state emergency environmental teams were at the scene. Air monitors were set up, and authorities were monitoring streams, said Mike Settles, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesman.
"We have immediate concerns with the ongoing blazes and concerns about what type of environmental damage this does," Settles said.
A motorist near the site when the derailment occurred said he heard an explosion and saw a white flash out of the corner of his eye.
"I looked and an oil tanker exploded. Flames shot 50, 60 feet in the air. Other cars were thrown off the tracks and dumped grain that started burning," Michael Wright told The Plain Dealer by phone.
The train was headed from Collingwood to Buffalo, N.Y., Francis said.
Painesville is about 30 miles northeast of Cleveland.
PAINESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — About 30 cars in a freight train hauling some toxic chemicals derailed Wednesday, setting off a large, smoky fire and leading to the evacuation of potentially hundreds of people. No injuries were reported.
Authorities were evacuating an area within a half-mile that includes businesses and homes where more than 1,000 people live, said Leslie James, deputy clerk for the Painesville police department.
The fire was under control, but authorities were letting it burn itself out because the train was carrying toxic chemicals, fire officials said.
The biggest concern was a tank car of liquefied petroleum gas, officials said. Firefighters were keeping water on that car to keep it cool, said Ken Gauntner, Lake County administrator.
About 30 cars in the 112-car freight train derailed, said Garrick Francis, a spokesman for the freight operator, Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX Corp. Eight cars carried potentially hazardous materials, but no toxic inhalants, he said. Most of the material was ethanol.
The cause of the derailment was being investigated.
Federal and state emergency environmental teams were at the scene. Air monitors were set up, and authorities were monitoring streams, said Mike Settles, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesman.
"We have immediate concerns with the ongoing blazes and concerns about what type of environmental damage this does," Settles said.
A motorist near the site when the derailment occurred said he heard an explosion and saw a white flash out of the corner of his eye.
"I looked and an oil tanker exploded. Flames shot 50, 60 feet in the air. Other cars were thrown off the tracks and dumped grain that started burning," Michael Wright told The Plain Dealer by phone.
The train was headed from Collingwood to Buffalo, N.Y., Francis said.
Painesville is about 30 miles northeast of Cleveland.