By Patricia Bogumil
Editor
A large metal chunk that fell off a Canadian National Railway train traveling through the Town of Waterford earlier Sunday is the likely culprit behind a diesel fuel spill reported around 10 p.m.
According to Village of Waterford Fire Chief Richard Mueller, a metal piece about 1-1/2 feet x 1-1/2 feet in size and weighing around 150 pounds fell off a passing train May 4.
The metal chunk landed on the train tracks; a later freight train then ran over the metal, kicking it up and piercing a 5,000-gallon fuel tank on the locomotive that held about 4,000 pounds of diesel fuel.
The freight train then stopped in its tracks, about half a mile south of the sharp turn on Highway 20 that leads north into East Troy and south into Honey Creek/Burlington. It later continued on its way under the power of a different locomotive.
The Village of Waterford responded to the incident with four pieces of equipment and 14 firefighters, on scene about five hours. Tichigan Volunteer Fire Company was called in and responded with one vehicle and two firefighters, on scene about two hours.
Mueller ran a unified command with state Department of Natural Resources responders, in consultation with Racine County Emergency Government and hazardous materials experts.
An investigation conducted by Mueller, Waterford township police and a railway representative located the broken chunk that came off the earlier train. “It was a big piece of metal,” Mueller commented.
A foam blanket was applied to the spill area so the fuel wouldn’t ignite, and a safety perimeter posted so no one could enter the area. “We were able to recover about 1,600 gallons of fuel,” said Mueller. The rest seeped into the ground.
The incident did not occur close to any homes, according to Mueller.
Monday morning, railway workers were still on scene, hosing down and cleaning up the site under the direction of the DNR.
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