BORDULAC, N. D. – Most of the fires that occurred after an exercise derailed near Bordulac have been extinguished, said Andrew Kirking, emergency manager for Foster and Stutsman counties.
In an email update posted Sunday afternoon, July 6, Kirking said Kansas City Canadian Pacific Railway reaction teams, adding operations, surrounding and hazmat teams, are proceeding to respond and target in coordination with emergency response officials.
The derailment occurred around 3:30 a. m. on Friday, July 6, and more than 20 cars are believed to have derailed, Kirking said Friday. of Carrington, Kensal and fire departments responded, Kirking said.
Crews are working to complete the removal and isolation of derailments containing methanol, anhydrous ammonia and plastic pellets, he said.
Kirking said that as crews raced to cover up dangerous vehicles early Sunday, air monitors detected low levels of anhydrous ammonia in the air after a vehicle began evacuating as it drove away from the derailment site. As a precautionary measure, the local emergency issued a shelter-in-place notice for citizens near the site of the derailment. Air tracking degrees at and around the site on Sunday morning returned to 0 and the stay in place notice was lifted, Kirking said.
The CPKC has been working intensively with local, state and federal authorities since the incident and thanked first responders for their work, he said.
There were no reports of injuries to the two-person team aboard the exercise or to citizens in the area of the derailment. Bordulac is approximately 10 miles southeast of Carrington, North Dakota.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Bureau and the Federal Railways NTSB and FRA have been at the scene since Saturday.