Massive 50-car train derailment sparks inferno and spills dangerous chemicals

A freight train derailment sparked a massive fire and hazardous chemical spill, forcing the evacuation of 2,000 people from their homes in a nearby town in Ohio.

The fireball and the release of chemicals, including vinyl chloride, occurred after about 50 cars of a 140-car freight train derailed around 9:00 p.m. Friday.

No injuries or deaths were reported after the accident, which left a steaming tangle of chemicals, smoke and fire. It happened near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border in the town of East Palestine.

The Norfolk Southern train was carrying freight from Madison, Illinois to Conway, Pennsylvania when it derailed.

Despite an initial effort to extinguish the blaze, firefighters withdrew from the immediate area Saturday as fears of toxic gases grew. Cars were still burning Sunday afternoon, East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick said during a news conference.

The fireball and the release of small amounts of vinyl chloride occurred after about 50 cars of a 140-car freight train derailed around 9 p.m. Friday.

“It got to the point where we needed to step back and let the safety features of the cars handle the situation,” Drabick said.

Unmanned devices were then used as cover as crews tried to determine which cars were still on fire.

“I can’t stress enough that if you’re in the evacuation zone, you need to leave,” the village’s mayor, Trent Conaway, said at a news conference on Sunday. The air quality readings remained safe through Saturday night.

“Please stay away from East Palestine,” he said. ‘Please stay away from the wreck. I don’t want to say it’s a dangerous situation, but it’s still a very volatile situation.”

Conaway said he arrived on the scene about five minutes after the crash.

‘There were some small explosions, but it could be things in the carriages. We are not sure. As for the tankers, I don’t think any tanker will blow up,” he said.

Although firefighters quickly began to put out the fire with water, they soon encountered complications.

“The heat is keeping the fire going, so they’re doing the best they can with the water, but the water will only go so far,” Conaway said.

It is flammable. It’s the location. The water is cold,” he added. The water system at that end of town is the end of our system.

After an initial effort to extinguish the fire late Friday, fire crews withdrew and used unmanned devices as they tried to locate which cars remained on fire.

Ten of the cars that derailed were carrying hazardous materials, including five containing vinyl chloride, said Michael Graham, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.

An evacuation center was set up at East Palestine High School staffed by American Red Cross personnel.

Ten of the cars that derailed were carrying hazardous materials, including five containing vinyl chloride, said Michael Graham, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.

According to Graham, the train consisted of 141 freight cars, nine were empty, three were locomotives, and ten in total contained hazardous material.

Vinyl chloride, a colorless gas, is considered a carcinogen by the US National Cancer Institute and is used to make the white plastic PVC pipe often used in plumbing.

“It’s a live fire scene,” Graham said. Cold temperatures complicated cleanup efforts, as fire trucks pumping water onto the fire battled frost.

Firefighters wore hazmat suits while fighting the blaze. Some 2,000 residents, or just under half of the city’s 5,000 inhabitants, were asked to evacuate their homes.

Officials asked anyone living within a one-mile radius of the scene to leave and set up an evacuation center at East Palestine High School, which was run by the American Red Cross.