Huge train derailment causes big fire, evacuations

>> Freight train cars continued to burn Saturday sending up heavy smoke following a derailment that prompted an evacuation order and a declaration of a state of emergency in an Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line.

About 50 cars derailed in East Palestine at about 9 p.m. EST Friday as a train was carrying a variety of products from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, rail operator Norfolk Southern said Saturday. There was no immediate information about what caused the derailment. No injuries or damage to structures were reported.

Mayor Trent Conaway of the village of East Palestine declared a state of emergency, citing a “train derailment with hazardous materials.” Air quality was being monitored throughout a one-mile zone that was ordered evacuated and there had been no dangerous readings to report, he said.

Norfolk Southern said the train had more than 100 cars, 20 of which were classified as carrying hazardous materials — defined as cargo that could pose any kind of danger “including flammables, combustibles, or environmental risks.”

Fire Chief Keith Drabick said officials were most concerned about a shipment of the chemical vinyl chloride, but safety features of the rail car carrying that were still functioning. “The rail car that was carrying that is doing its job,” he said.

Vinyl chloride, used to make the polyvinyl chloride hard plastic resin used in a variety of plastic products, is associated with increased risk of liver cancer and other cancers, according to the federal government's National Cancer Institute.

Emergency crews would keep their distance until rail officials told them it was safe to approach, Drabick said.

“When they say it's time to go in and put the fire out, my guys will go in and put the fire out,” he said. He said there were also other chemicals in the cars and officials would seek a list from Norfolk Southern and federal authorities.

Firefighters were pulled from the immediate area and unmanned streams were used to protect some areas including businesses that might also have contained materials of concern, officials said.