Despite no mention of it in this account, the derailment reported below was said to be responsible for widespread WCOM/ATT and MFN failures, affecting traffic over numerous OC-48s and 100s of T3s. It appears from reading the NANOG list that WCOM's ATM network was hardest hit:
thewbalchannel.com
Train Derails; Hazardous Chemicals Onboard
Two Cars Carrying Hydrochloric Acid
Laura Lewis, Staff Writer
BALTIMORE, 10:15 p.m. EDT July 18, 2001 -- A CSX freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed Wednesday afternoon in a tunnel near the 1200 block of East Mount Royal Avenue. The train caught fire during the accident, blanketing the area with thick, strong-smelling smoke.
Following the derailment, civil defense sirens were blaring downtown warning of the emergency.
Hazardous Chemicals Onboard
Hyrdochloric Acid (2 cars)
Fluorsilicic Acid (2 cars)
Acetic Acid (1 car)
Hazardous Materials Guide
Around 9 p.m., Maryland Highway Administration closed all major arteries into the city due to the fire and a major water main break that was flooding streets in downtown Baltimore. The Associated Press reported that 200 highway administration officials would be stationed at city exits, including those from Interstates 83, 95 and 395.
Four cars on the 60-car train derailed in the accident. A total of nine cars were carrying hazardous chemicals. According to the Maryland Department of the Environment, two cars held hydrochloric acid; two contained fluorosilicic acid; and one car was transporting acetic acid. Both hydrocloric and fluorosilicic acid are corrosive chemicals used for cleaning metals and the production of chlorides. Acetic acid is comparable to vinegar. Officials said that there were also some other unidentified flammable substances onboard.
Fire Department spokesman Hector Torres could not confirm whether any hazardous materials were leaking from the wreckage. HazMat crews are on the scene to make a determination.
The derailment occurred in the Howard Street tunnel, which begins at Camden Yards and ends at Mount Royal. Fire crews are entering the tunnel with thermal imaging cameras to locate the source of the fire.
Sometime around 4 p.m., fire officials were calling the blaze a two-alarm fire. By 5 p.m. it had reached five-alarm status.
Thick, black smoke was billowing from the tunnel for more than two hours. WBAL-11 News reporter Matt Jablow said that the fire smelled very bitter, like an electrical fire.
By 7 p.m., the smoke had turned white and began decreasing in volume, which does not necessarily signal that it was being distinguished, Torres said. He said that a water main may have ruptured in the tunnel, causing water to mix with the chemicals.
The second game of Wednesday's doubleheader between the Orioles and the Texas Rangers was postponed due to the fire and smoke.
There are several businesses near the scene. Officials do not expect an explosion, but they have evacuated people from the area and told nearby residents to stay indoors with their windows closed.
Coast Guard officials established a half-mile safety zone extending out from the Harbor View Marina in the Inner Harbor.
People were told to avoid a five-block radius near Camden Yards and another five-block radius near the Fifth Regiment Armory at Preston and Howard streets.
The following roads were closed due to the fire: Cathedral at Mount Royal, Maryland at North Avenue, Howard at Martin Luther King Jr., Charles at Preston, Dolphin at Eutaw and West Mount Royal at North Howard Street. Interstates 95 and 395 were also closed in some sections.
MTA official Frank Fulton said that both Light Rail and Camden Line MARC train service were affected. Service continued on schedule, but passengers were forced to take shuttle buses instead of the trains.
Two firefighters were injured in the blaze. One was transported to Mercy Medical Center, and the other was taken to the University of Maryland.
The cause of the derailment was not immediately known. |
