March 8, 2015 by Adam Miller - The Canadian Press (with files from The Canadian Press)
GOGAMA, Ont. – Crews are continuing their efforts today to put out a fire caused when a CN Rail train hauling crude oil derailed in northern Ontario. Ontario Provincial Police say the derailment occurred at about 2:45 a.m. on Saturday about four kilometres southwest of Gogama, Ont., which is about 80 km south of Timmins.
CN spokesman Jim Feeny says residents will likely see smoke rising from the derailment site He says this poses no threat to people or the environment, adding CN will continue to monitor air quality in the area.
Feeny says CN has also started building a 460-metre-long track around the derailment site to help with fire suppression and cleanup. It will also allow CN to restore rail service on the line once those tasks are done.
The derailment involved 35 train cars – some of which caught fire and entered the Mattagami River System.
OPP Const. Gillian Coughlin says officers are at the scene to ensure public safety and the Gogama Fire Department was called to assist in containing the blaze.
Roxanne Veronneau, owner of the Gogama Village Inn, said the fire quickly spread throughout the river and destroyed an exit bridge out of town.
”We have two exits in Gogama to get in and out of town and the bridge apparently is burned down,” Veronneau said. ”So now we have one other exit, which is relatively close to where all of this is going on.”
CN crews incl senior operations, engineering, dangerous goods & environment officers, are responding to derailment 2 mi NW of Gogama in N ON
— CN Communications (@CN_Comm) March 7, 2015
This is the third CN derailment in northern Ontario is less than a month, and the second in the same area.
A CN freight train derailed on Thursday 100 kilometres east of Hornepayne, Ont., but there was no leakage from the 16 residue tank cars that contained crude oil or gasoline.
On Feb. 14, a derailment occurred in the same area south of Timmins, when 29 cars loaded with crude oil and petroleum distillates derailed and caused a fire.
Currently on standby to go and assist with feeding Mattagami First Nation evacuation #Gogama #train #derailment pic.twitter.com/vOhOMP7PhJ
— Chef Brian Henry (@ChefBrianHenry) March 8, 2015
Veronneau says the town is filled with safety crews working to clean up the damage and that large plumes of smoke can still be seen nearby.
”The good part about that is that the cleanup crew, they had all of the equipment over at the first derailment which made it quicker to get their hands on the equipment and bring it over to our site,” Veronneau said, adding that people are concerned about what could have happened.
Scene at yesterday’s CN train derailment. Fire ongoing at approx 80%. #Hwy144 remains closed. pic.twitter.com/6BTKinXgsD
— OPP North East (@OPP_NER) March 8, 2015
”People are kind of sitting on edge right now… they’re not impressed because it could have happened right here. Look in Quebec what happened to them and how many lives were lost.
”My inn is about 200 feet from the train tracks and it’s a major concern for the people in town … If it had happened in the middle of town we wouldn’t be having a conversation right now because we would have gotten taken out. It would have been horrible being this close and the track runs right through the middle of Gogama.”
The eastbound unit train involved carried crude oil in CPC 1232 tank cars from Alberta, destined for Eastern Canada
— CN Communications (@CN_Comm) March 7, 2015
Fire still burning, but officials tell me the suppression plan is working and derailed cars are cooling down to move pic.twitter.com/cp4ICnzT9s
— Glenn Thibeault (@GlennThibeault) March 8, 2015
Coughlin says the cause of the derailment is still under investigation and the Ministry of Environment has been notified, but that residents of the nearby Mattagami First Nation are being advised not to consume water from the community source at this time.
CN Rail tweeted later Saturday that there are no indications drinking water was affected and air monitoring systems have detected no issues.
CN emergency responders have deployed two lines of boom in the waterway to contain crude oil movements
— CN Communications (@CN_Comm) March 7, 2015
Via Rail says passenger service is being cancelled between Winnipeg and Toronto.
A train that left Vancouver on Friday night will terminate in Winnipeg on Sunday night, and Via says it will look at providing alternate transporation for passengers.
A train scheduled to leave Toronto for Vancouver on Saturday night has been cancelled and passengers will be responsible for making alternate travel arrangements.
Also overnight, CN began building a 1,500-foot diversionary track around derailment site to facilitate ongoing fire suppression and clean-up
— CN Communications (@CN_Comm) March 8, 2015
The diversion will also allow CN to restore rail service on the line once major fire suppression activities completed & it is safe to do so
— CN Communications (@CN_Comm) March 8, 2015
OPP say local highways have been closed in the area, including Highway 144 in both directions.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has sent investigators to the site, which they say is about 37 kilometres from the location of last month’s derailment.
deploys team to crude oil train derailment and fire 3 km west of #Gogama, Ontario http://t.co/oHUiosixRZ
— TSB of Canada (@TSBCanada) March 7, 2015
CN says the cars met the newer, improved CPC-1232 standard, which have enhancements such as half-head shields, improved top and bottom fitting protection, and normalized steel.
The TSB said last month the Class 111 tank cars involved in the Feb. 14 derailment also met the upgraded standards for new tank cars carrying crude and other flammable liquids.
But it says the cars still ”performed similarly” to those involved in the deadly derailment in Lac-Megantic, Que., two years ago, which predated the changes.
The agency says last month’s incident ”demonstrates the inadequacy” of the new standards and is urging Transport Canada to quickly introduce enhanced protection standards to reduce the risk of spills when these tanks are involved in accidents.
MOECC officials are monitoring water quality – – with specialists on site. pic.twitter.com/i9uYGYdD3x
— Glenn Thibeault (@GlennThibeault) March 8, 2015
Scene from this morning (8am) of the fire caused by CN train derailment. Investigation ongoing @TSBCanada pic.twitter.com/Q1l6YdwiYu
— OPP North East (@OPP_NER) March 8, 2015
Residents likely to see some smoke plumes of asst shades of black/gray/white; this is normal & poses no threat to the public or environment
— CN Communications (@CN_Comm) March 8, 2015
Another view of train derailment (7Mar) #OPP remain on scene for public safety while TSB conduct their investigation pic.twitter.com/AvK6kLgnch
— OPP North East (@OPP_NER) March 8, 2015
The fire suppression plan is designed to extinguish the fire still burning at derailment site; fire suppression activities will begin today
— CN Communications (@CN_Comm) March 8, 2015
Ongoing air monitoring continues to show no air quality concerns on or off the site
— CN Communications (@CN_Comm) March 8, 2015
Indications are that drinking water supply to Gogama Village and nearby First Nation not affected at this time
— CN Communications (@CN_Comm) March 7, 2015
Quite horrific to see first hand. pic.twitter.com/h1Cr3naRIG
— Glenn Thibeault (@GlennThibeault) March 8, 2015
The federal government, responsible for rail safety, must do more to protect our communities and the environment pic.twitter.com/XE2dgTn9go
— Glenn Thibeault (@GlennThibeault) March 8, 2015
Have your say: