(The Canadian Press circulated the following story on March 4.)
EDMONTON, Alberta — Twenty-eight people were evacuated from a mobile home park south of Red Deer Thursday morning after several train cars containing toxic anhydrous ammonia residue tipped over in a derailment.
The derailment was near Springbrook, just south of Red Deer, Alta.
“We’ve identified 24 dangerous good rail cars and one car is confirmed leaking,” said Don Bardonnex, Red Deer County fire services manager .
Some of the Canadian Pacific Railway cars were loaded with flammable butane fuel. A distinct chemical smell could be detected in the region.
Three rail employees were taken to Red Deer hospital for observation. The residents were evacuated as a precaution, officials said.
The accident happened about 4:30 a.m. when 19 cars of a 70-car freight train left the tracks. Emergency officials called to the scene included fire crews from Red Deer County and the town of Penhold, RCMP and a hazardous materials team from Red Deer Emergency Services.
An air monitoring vehicle from Calgary was on its way to check air quality.
Roadblocks were set up south of the derailment at Penhold at Hwy 2A and north of the site at MacKenzie Road. Other connector roads were also closed.
Officials were able to obtain a list of materials being hauled on the train. Derailed cars included both dry-goods and tanker cars.
Widely used as a refrigerant and in the agricultural, chemical, petroleum and water treatment industries, anhydrous ammonia is a compressed gas with extremely toxic vapours which irritate the eyes and skin.
Three rail cars continued to block the main entrance to the community of Springbrook Thursday morning.
Springbrook is a tiny rural community with 11 homes in its trailer park.