AP News, January 19th, 2007
Federal officials said early inspections indicate the crew of a CSX train acted properly just before it derailed, igniting a massive chemical fire that forced evacuations south of Louisville.
The fire sent thick black clouds of smoke into the sky, prompting officials to evacuate residents and shut down a major highway. Firefighters were finishing a controlled burn of some chemicals from tanker cars.
"We have not found any anomalies in operations at this point; we've not seen any train handling issues at this point," said Mark Rosenker, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. "So it seems that we need to be focusing more our efforts on examining equipment and track."
Investigators are inspecting the track for nicks and abrasions, Rosenker said. The federal agency considers the derailment an accident.
Meanwhile, seven Bullitt County residents sued CSX, the rail operator, in federal court in Louisville on Thursday. They alleged that CSX officials acted negligently before the crash and chemical fire forced them to either stay in their homes or evacuate. The suit seeks a class action against CSX and an unspecified amount of money.
The company has not been served with the lawsuit, CSX spokesman Gary Sease said.
"Our focus is on doing everything possible to protect the community and the environment, and we continue to work to meet the urgent needs of everyone affected," he said in a statement.
The blazes started Tuesday morning when a dozen tanker cars derailed and spilled various chemicals. Officials urged residents within a mile of the derailment to evacuate, and part of Interstate 65 was shut down for most of the day.
About two dozen people near the crash site checked themselves into a hospital for symptoms related to the fire and were released.
The chemicals that spilled when the cars derailed were cyclohexane, methyl ethyl ketone, butadiene and alcohol, according to CSX. Officials said they considered the substances toxic but said they break down when burned.
Rob Orkies, fire chief for the Zoneton community, said that a rail car full of paper products also burned Thursday, but that firefighters won't deal with that small blaze until the chemicals were extinguished.
Rosenker said that a "hot zone" confined to a small area prevented investigators from inspecting the entire crash site.
The train _ with four locomotives and 80 cars _ had been headed to Louisville from Birmingham, Ala.
