Page 22 - Nov/Dec 2015 Vol. 33 No. 5
P. 22
ALCOA / MARYVILLE By Jane Groff
Behind the Scenes of CSX Train Fire
As the street maintenance supervisor train engineer, the incident commanders City of Maryville Municipal Building.
and on-call personnel for Engineering thought the tank contained liquid pro- As Marian O’Briant, Blount County
and Public Works, it isn’t unusual for pane gas. The urgency to evacuate people
Tim Green to get a work call at 1 a.m. was based on a threat of explosion. Later, Sherriff ’s Office spokesperson said,
So, on the morning of July 1 when 911 around 1 a.m., the chemical was identified “Just about every emergency agency in
dispatched him to a fire on Old Mt. Tabor as acrylonitrile – and that the by-product Blount County was involved.” In addition
Road, he followed the normal protocol from burning was cyanide gas. to the Sherriff ’s Office, the Tennessee
and sent members of his team to close Emergency Management Agency, the
roads for what they thought would be The damaged CSX car was carrying Tennessee Department of Environment
a typical situation – like a house fire. It 24,000 gallons of acrylonitrile, a toxic and Conservation, and members of the
wasn’t until they reached the scene that chemical used in the manufacture of plas- 45th Civil Support Team of the Tennessee
Keith Brewer and Jay Parrott – members tics and synthetic rubber. This colorless Air National Guard were on the scene at
of the street crew – realized the signifi- volatile liquid began to burn in a thick, various times during the emergency.
cance of the situation. “This is more than black billow, sending cyanide gas into the
a fire,” Green recalled his staff telling him. air. With the threat of an air-born toxin, As part of the evacuation, roads were
officials ordered an evacuation of a 2-mile closed and well water alerts were put
Green and his staff respond frequently zone, later down-graded to 1.5 miles. into effect. Both air and water quality
to fire calls, downed trees, flooding, traffic At least 5,000 residents were affected. during and after the emergency were of
light damage, and oil spills. They are Displaced people were first directed to a concern. All of these factors contributed
essentially the first of the first responders shelter set up at Foothills Mall, but were to a need for area management, notably
– stopping traffic, clearing the streets later sent to Heritage High School. altered traffic patterns and the sealing
and providing safe access for emergency of the perimeter of the event to prevent
personnel to respond. In all those During the emergency event, several inadvertent exposure to the toxic fumes.
responses, none ever compared to the July local and state agencies worked together
1 train fire. from a mobile incident command center The evacuation area changed three
set up at the Blount County Campus times over the course of the first few hours
A 57-car train broke an axel, punctur- of Pellissippi State due to the movement of the smoke. Green
ing a tank car and sparking the blaze. At Community College.
approximately 11:50 p.m., a citizen called Later, an Emergency
in to report the fire. Operations Center
was established at the
Based on some information from the
22 TPW November/December 2015
Behind the Scenes of CSX Train Fire
As the street maintenance supervisor train engineer, the incident commanders City of Maryville Municipal Building.
and on-call personnel for Engineering thought the tank contained liquid pro- As Marian O’Briant, Blount County
and Public Works, it isn’t unusual for pane gas. The urgency to evacuate people
Tim Green to get a work call at 1 a.m. was based on a threat of explosion. Later, Sherriff ’s Office spokesperson said,
So, on the morning of July 1 when 911 around 1 a.m., the chemical was identified “Just about every emergency agency in
dispatched him to a fire on Old Mt. Tabor as acrylonitrile – and that the by-product Blount County was involved.” In addition
Road, he followed the normal protocol from burning was cyanide gas. to the Sherriff ’s Office, the Tennessee
and sent members of his team to close Emergency Management Agency, the
roads for what they thought would be The damaged CSX car was carrying Tennessee Department of Environment
a typical situation – like a house fire. It 24,000 gallons of acrylonitrile, a toxic and Conservation, and members of the
wasn’t until they reached the scene that chemical used in the manufacture of plas- 45th Civil Support Team of the Tennessee
Keith Brewer and Jay Parrott – members tics and synthetic rubber. This colorless Air National Guard were on the scene at
of the street crew – realized the signifi- volatile liquid began to burn in a thick, various times during the emergency.
cance of the situation. “This is more than black billow, sending cyanide gas into the
a fire,” Green recalled his staff telling him. air. With the threat of an air-born toxin, As part of the evacuation, roads were
officials ordered an evacuation of a 2-mile closed and well water alerts were put
Green and his staff respond frequently zone, later down-graded to 1.5 miles. into effect. Both air and water quality
to fire calls, downed trees, flooding, traffic At least 5,000 residents were affected. during and after the emergency were of
light damage, and oil spills. They are Displaced people were first directed to a concern. All of these factors contributed
essentially the first of the first responders shelter set up at Foothills Mall, but were to a need for area management, notably
– stopping traffic, clearing the streets later sent to Heritage High School. altered traffic patterns and the sealing
and providing safe access for emergency of the perimeter of the event to prevent
personnel to respond. In all those During the emergency event, several inadvertent exposure to the toxic fumes.
responses, none ever compared to the July local and state agencies worked together
1 train fire. from a mobile incident command center The evacuation area changed three
set up at the Blount County Campus times over the course of the first few hours
A 57-car train broke an axel, punctur- of Pellissippi State due to the movement of the smoke. Green
ing a tank car and sparking the blaze. At Community College.
approximately 11:50 p.m., a citizen called Later, an Emergency
in to report the fire. Operations Center
was established at the
Based on some information from the
22 TPW November/December 2015
