According to a report from News Center Maine, cleanup continued after a Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) freight train derailed and caught fire around 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning just north of Rockwood, Maine.
CPKC officials said six lumber cars and three locomotives derailed. Two cars were carrying drums of Pentamethylheptane and Ethanol, both classified as hazardous materials, also derailed, but were not involved in the fire and did not leak or spill.
Some diesel did spill, however, and a boom and absorbents were being used to help with the cleanup.
CPKC said the train derailed in a rural wooded area around 15 miles east of Jackman after encountering a “track washout.” The Maine Forest Service (MFS), who also responded to the scene, said the train derailed in Sandwich Academy Grant Township in Somerset County.
MFS said the derailment was potentially caused by a buildup of melting ice and debris that washed out part of the railroad track, and that the fire involved the locomotives and lumber cars only and not the hazardous materials being carried.
The fire reportedly created a small forest fire, but as of 6 p.m. Saturday, the fire was contained and being monitored, the Maine Forest Service said.
CPKC added its hazardous materials experts and emergency response teams responded to the derailment scene to conduct a full assessment.
After MFS officials conducted an on-scene assessment, they determined the hazardous materials were not at risk of leaking or catching fire.
Following the derailment, three railroad workers were taken to a nearby hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, according to the Maine Forest Service. As of Sunday, all three had been released from the hospital, and no additional injuries were reported.
Jackman-Moose River Fire and Rescue Department (JMRVRD) Chief Bill Jarvis said said three of the train’s crewmembers escaped by climbing out of a window.
This derailment comes just one day after CPKC was created. No evacuations were made following the derailment, and there is no threat to public safety, CPKC said.
On Sunday, Canadian Pacific, with help from the MFS, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and the JMRVRD conducted salvage, cleanup, and repairs to the railway
On Saturday, the rail cars transporting hazardous substances were removed from the scene and were not thought to pose a threat to public safety.
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