Update…Train derails, fire, evacuation, Heimdal

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Residents who were evacuated from their homes in a central North Dakota town when an oil train derailed and caught fire have returned. A county official says the 20 people who live in Heimdal were allowed to return yesterday evening after the fire died down. No injuries have been reported. The cause of the wreck isn’t known.

Jeff Zent, a spokesman for Governor Jack Dalrymple, says the BNSF train was carrying Bakken crude loaded in the Tioga area.

The derailment early Wednesday follows a string of oil train fires linked to the volatile crude from the Bakken region. It’s the first since the state in April required companies to reduce the volatility of Bakken crude before it can be transported, raising questions about whether the new standard is sufficient.

Zent didn’t know whether the oil in Wednesday’s accident had been treated.

    The Heimdal resident who alerted authorities to a BNSF Railway oil train derailment and fire in Wells County says he did so in his underwear and with shaving cream on his face.

Sixty-eight-year-old Curt Benson says he heard the explosion outside town about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, and felt it rattle his house. He says with the large number of oil trains that come through the community, he figured that was the cause. He quickly drove to the scene to get a firsthand look, then called 911.

Benson says it took emergency crews about a half hour to respond to the rural area. He says rainfall likely stopped the fire from spreading to nearby grassland in the meantime.

Heimdal residents were evacuated as a precaution.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency is sending someone to the site of an oil train derailment and fire in Wells County to gauge any contamination to waterways in the vicinity of the wreck.

Spokesman Rich Mylott says the rail line through Heimdal (HYM’-dahl) runs next to an intermittent waterway known as the Big Slough, which drains into the James River about 15 miles downstream near Bremen.

State Environmental Health Chief Dave Glatt (glaht) says people with respiratory problems should avoid breathing smoke from the fire. He says the danger from the smoke is mainly the particles it contains such as ash, not from toxic chemicals.

Previously…

BISMARCK (CSi)   Gov. Jack Dalrymple Wednesday traveled to Wells County where he met with local officials and emergency responders following the derailment of a BNSF Railway train near Heimdal, N.D.  (east of Harvey, ND).  Dalrymple and Adjutant Gen David Sprynczynatyk, director of the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services met with local officials to make sure emergency responders had received all the assistance and resources needed to effectively manage the derailment and to protect area residents.

A BNSF train carrying crude oil derailed about 7:30 a.m. about 1.5 miles east of Heimdal. The derailment resulted in a fire that engulfed several oil tank cars. No injuries have been reported. By midafternoon, the fire and smoke diminished significantly.  BNSF workers planned to apply foam to what fire remained late Wednesday afternoon.

“Thanks to all of the local officials and emergency personnel who did an outstanding job in responding to the derailment,” Dalrymple said. “There is tremendous value in seeing firsthand the coordinated effort of local and state resources.”

Dalrymple met with local officials and emergency responders including Wells County Commissioner Randi Suckut, Wells County Emergency Manager Tammy Roehrich, state Sen. Jerry Klein and Fessenden Fire Chief Aaron Opdahl.

Soon after the derailment, the state Department of Emergency Services activated the state emergency operations center to coordinate the emergency response with local officials. Highway Patrol troopers were on site throughout the day as well as officials from the state Department of Health.   Officials from the state Health Department, in cooperation with Environmental Protection Agency, collected nearby water samples and continue to monitor air quality in the area of the derailment.

“This derailment underscores the need to continue moving forward on meaningful improvements in rail safety,” Dalrymple said. “The focus must always be on accident prevention, and no one approach will get the job done.

“We need safer tank cars, improvements in train operations and improvements in rail maintenance and inspections,” Dalrymple said. “North Dakota has adopted new oil treatment rules as part of a much larger effort to improve rail safety and we will begin a state-run rail inspection program to augment the work of the federal government.  Additionally, pipelines offer the safest mode of crude oil transportation so we must also develop greater pipeline capacity. “

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency is sending someone to the site of an oil train derailment and fire in Wells County to gauge any contamination to waterways in the vicinity of the wreck.

Spokesman Rich Mylott says the rail line through Heimdal (HYM’-dahl) runs next to an intermittent waterway known as the Big Slough, which drains into the James River about 15 miles downstream near Bremen.

No one was hurt in the BNSF Railway train derailment and fire. Residents of Heimdal were evacuated as a precaution.

State Environmental Health Chief Dave Glatt (glaht) says people with respiratory problems should avoid breathing smoke from the fire. He says the danger from the smoke is mainly the particles it contains such as ash, not from toxic chemicals.

HEIMDAL, N.D. (AP) – The Heimdal (HYM’-dahl) resident who alerted authorities to a BNSF Railway oil train derailment and fire in Wells County says he did so in his underwear and with shaving cream on his face.

Sixty-eight-year-old Curt Benson says he heard the explosion outside town about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, and felt it rattle his house. He says with the large number of oil trains that come through the community, he figured that was the cause. He quickly drove to the scene to get a firsthand look, then called 911.

Benson says it took emergency crews about a half hour to respond to the rural area. He says rainfall likely stopped the fire from spreading to nearby grassland in the meantime.

No one was hurt but Heimdal residents were evacuated as a precaution.

HEIMDAL, N.D. (AP) – A town of about three dozen people in central North Dakota has been evacuated Wednesday morning, after an oil train derailed and caught fire.

Wells County Emergency Manager Tammy Roehrich says no injuries have been reported from the Wednesday morning accident near Heimdal (HYM’-dahl), about 115 miles northeast of Bismarck.

Roehrich says the town’s roughly 35 residents have left and are staying with family and friends.

State Emergency Services spokeswoman Cecily Fong says 10 tanker cars are on fire, creating thick black smoke.

It’s unclear how many cars were part of the train, or how many derailed. There’s no immediate word on the cause.

A team of investigators from the Federal Railroad Administration was expected to arrive on the scene by mid-day Wednesday.