Emergency call for derailment site southeast of Carrington lifted – InForum

BORDULAC, N.D. – The fire that broke out after a train derailment near Bordulac has been largely extinguished, said Andrew Kirking, emergency manager for Foster and Stutsman counties.

In an email update sent Sunday afternoon, July 6, Kirking said Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway Company response teams, including operations, environmental and hazardous materials teams, were continuing response and cleanup efforts in coordination with emergency management officials.

Erik Gjovik / Independent from Foster County

The derailment occurred at about 3:30 a.m. on Friday, July 6, and more than 20 train cars reportedly derailed, Kirking said Friday. Hazardous materials were reported in the derailed train cars and fires broke out after the derailment. Fire crews from Carrington, Kensal and other fire departments responded to the scene, Kirking said.

Crews were working to fully recover and isolate the derailed rail cars, which contained methanol, anhydrous ammonia and plastic pellets, he said.

Kirking said that as crews were cleaning up the rail cars carrying the hazardous materials early Sunday, air monitors detected low levels of anhydrous ammonia in the air after a rail car began venting as it was being transported away from the immediate derailment site. As a precautionary measure, local emergency management authorities issued a shelter-in-place order for residents near the derailment site. Air monitoring levels at the site and in surrounding areas dropped to zero by Sunday morning and the shelter-in-place order was lifted, Kirking said.

Erik Gjovik / Independent from Foster County

CPKC has worked closely with local, state and federal authorities since the incident and thanked emergency responders for their work, he said.

Neither the two-person train crew nor residents in the area of ​​the derailment were injured. Bordulac is located about 10 miles southeast of Carrington, North Dakota.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Railroad FRA have been on site since Saturday.

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