(The following story by Mark Schlachtenhaufen appeared on The Edmond Sun website on August 22.)
EDMOND, Okla. — John Tautfest, pastor at Luther’s First Christian Church, was mowing a church member’s yard Friday afternoon when he saw a plume of smoke.
About eight cars of a 110-car Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad train had just derailed in a rural area north of Luther. BNSF spokesman Joe Faust said the heat and smoke made determining the exact number of cars involved difficult.
Faust said a BNSF response team was at the site and plans were to let the fire burn a little while longer Friday evening. At about 8 p.m. it was to be treated with foam, he said. Soon BNSF officials would investigate the cause of the accident.
“It’s much, much too early to tell,” Faust said. “We will conduct a thorough investigation.”
Faust said there were two BNSF employees on the train who were not injured in the accident. Faust said the eight cars contained a combination of crude oil and methanol. The train was carrying other mixed freight, including lumber and beverages, he said.
The track it is owned by Stillwater Central Railroad and operated by the state of Oklahoma and Watco Companies, Faust said.
At mid-afternoon, at least four of the train cars were on their side and continued to burn. The fire was contained to the cars, said Tim Wheeler, Edmond’s fire prevention chief who was serving as public information officer at the site.
“It’s a large fire, but fortunately it’s in a remote area,” Wheeler said.
Tautfest said if the derailment had happened a little farther to the south, in Luther, it would have been a different story. Faust said when the accident occurred just before 3 p.m., the train was traveling about 19-21 mph. The train was headed from Tulsa to Temple, Texas.
The closest thing to the site of the derailed train cars is a wellhead, but as of Friday evening had not caught on fire. Wheeler said that an unknown number of residents living near the site of the derailment, a plowed field, had been evacuated.
“We’re evacuating as a precaution,” Wheeler said. “The big thing is to keep everyone safe, including our own.”
No residents in the area, or firefighters, were injured, Wheeler said. Due to the dangers, evidenced by a massive fireball visible for miles, firefighters and other emergency personnel were remaining for the moment a safe distance away on East Covell Road.
Among the responding agencies were fire departments from Luther, Edmond, Oklahoma City, Midwest City and Fallis. Members of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office were there as well.
Faust said BNSF works with agencies across the country in preparation for accidents like this and the first responders at the scene were doing an “excellent” job.
“The Edmond Fire Department evaluated the situation and acted quickly and appropriately,” Faust said.
Wheeler said it was unknown whether they would fight the fire with water or foam, but at least two hazardous material trucks were on scene and the railroad company was sending another from Texas.
Meanwhile, in Luther, Tautfest said a church elder suggested that the building be opened for evacuees needing shelter. As of 5:30 p.m., no one had come to the church, but it was likely that some folks had been at work, he said. Tautfest said the church would remain open for several more hours.
The Red Cross, which was at the command site supplying water and other support, had talked to a Wellston-area McDonalds that had prepared “a bunch” of hamburgers for the first responders, Tautfest said.