Jonathan Mendelsohn
This past Thursday morning, A train carrying Ethanol in western Minnesota caught fire, causing mass evacuations in the city of Raymond. According to a statement made by BNSF to NPR, twenty-two train cars derailed, all containing large amounts of ethanol and corn syrup.
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Of the derailed train cars, four caught fire. The reason that the cars derailed is currently under investigation. In a statement, the railroad said, “There are no other hazardous materials on the train and no injuries as a result of the incident.”
The People of Raymond Forced to Evacuate
According to the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office, a half-mile evacuation area was made around the site of the crash. If a citizen in the area had no other place to go, an emergency collection site was made available in the Minnesota town of Prinsburg. On Thursday afternoon, the evacuation order was lifted and residents were allowed to return to their homes.
Authorities were made aware of the accident in the wee hours of Thursday morning at 1 AM. The derailment occurred on the western edge of Raymond, but it was still considered to be within the city’s limits. Raymond is a very small town, with a population of just about 900 residents.
According to BNSF, the main track is blocked, with no word on when trains will be able to run again. The sheriff’s office said that the “site remains active as the fire is being contained.” BNSF personnel have been working with first responders since the accident happened to sort out the problem.
While the fire was mostly extinguished by 6 AM, the sound of the crash was reported to be deafeningly loud. Mayor and Assistant Fire Chief Ardell Tensen spoke about the loud sound of the crash, saying, “We didn’t know if they were going to blow up.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the train cars were designed to not explode. Regarding the accident, Walz said, “There’s always lessons learned here. There will be time to figure out what caused this.”
