(The following article by Mike Faher appeared in the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat on June 27.)
MARKLETON, Pa. — A freight train carrying a hazardous chemical jumped the track early yesterday in Upper Turkeyfoot Township, sending firefighters shuffling to handle a potentially explosive situation.
In the end, fewer than 10 residents were evacuated and no hazardous spill was reported – though the wreck left a giant cleanup job about 3 miles south of this small village.
“It was a mess down there, all tangled up and wrapped up,” said Mike Ogline, New Centerville & Rural Volunteer Fire Company chief.
Some details remained unclear last night. Local emergency responders said 11 cars derailed; CSX administrators said nine cars left the track.
CSX said the train – 67 cars and three locomotives – was headed from Philadelphia to Louisville, Ky. There was no speculation on what may have caused the wreck, which left four crew members unharmed.
Simply getting to the 6:16 a.m. emergency call proved difficult for nine fire companies responding.
In a telephone interview, Ogline said only small all-terrain vehicles were able to reach the remote spot on the banks of the Casselman River.
“We couldn’t get any of the equipment to the rescue site,” he said. “I’m glad we didn’t have any problems.”
“We just don’t have a cause at this point,” CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said in a telephone interview from the railroad’s Jacksonville, Fla. office.
That there were no major hazards was not apparent at first, though. Ogline said rescuers found that only one of the derailed cars was carrying anything.
But that car contained resin, a volatile substance that can be used in varnish, plastics and Fiberglas.
“We had a lot of product that was highly flammable,” Ogline said, adding that his safety guide told him the material had a one-half mile explosive range.
Firefighters set up a 4 1/2-mile perimeter and evacuated a few homes nearby, though Ogline said fewer than 10 people were forced to leave.
The tanker car in question had a ruptured hull. But firefighters later determined that the inner hull was left intact, preventing a leak.
“If it was leaking, all it would have taken is one little spark,” Ogline said.
Another lucky break came when the cars skidded off the right side of the track. Had they gone to the left, Ogline said, “the train probably would have ended up in the Casselman River.”
There was little else firefighters could do. By noon, they had turned the scene over to CSX and its cleanup crew. Residents also were returned to their homes by that time.
While Ogline noted rail damage, the remote location and hulking cars as impediments to a cleanup, Sullivan said the track should be cleared by this morning.
Ogline said emergency crews were lucky the day didn’t take a disastrous turn.
“We secured the scene and we took care of the potential hazard,” he said.
Other fire departments responding to the scene were Addison, Bakersville, Berlin, Confluence, Friedens, Rockwood, Sipesville and Somerset.