(The Associated Press distributed the following story on July 6.)
LYONS, N.Y. — Forty people were evacuated Sunday after railroad workers spotted vapors leaking from a tanker rail car carrying a highly flammable liquid.
At 1:30 p.m., CSX Railroad employees noticed isopentane vapors leaking from the top of the rail car parked in the village of Lyons, about 20 miles east of Rochester. Isopentane is an odorless liquid that can explode when heated.
About five hours later a CSX hazardous-material specialist from Buffalo tightened the car’s cover and stopped the leak, CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan told the Democrat & Chronicle of Rochester.
Firefighters from three Wayne County departments had prepared to protect the area had the chemical caught fire, Lyons Fire chief Charles Witt said.
Officials said CSX was moving the car to Canandaigua.
There were no injuries.