A train carrying highly flammable crude oil derailed and erupted into flames Wednesday morning, forcing the evacuation of a small town in North Dakota, according to local and federal officials.
The fire was the latest in a string of accidents and explosions involving oil trains in recent years. It occurred less than a week after the federal government outlined its plans to improve the safety of highly hazardous train traffic.
The BNSF train derailed near Heimdal, about 100 miles northeast of Bismarck, resulting in a large fire that involved 10 tank cars, according to Cecily Fong, the spokeswoman for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services. The train was using a newer generation of tank cars, built since 2011 with more safety features.
The engine and cars that were not burning were decoupled from the burning cars, she said. The train consisted of 109 total cars - 107 loaded with crude oil and two buffer cars loaded with sand, according to BNSF.
The cause of the derailment was not immediately known. No injuries were reported, Fong said, but about 40 people were evacuated from Heimdal. Fire departments and specialized hazardous materials emergency teams that responded to the fire set up a cordon about half a mile away and planned to let the fire burn out over the next few days.
It was at least the fifth railroad accident involving an oil train derailment and fire this year. On Friday, the Department of Transportation issued long-awaited rules to improve the safety of oil trains. Those rules include phasing out the oldest tank cars by 2018 and set a new safety standard for new cars.
BNSF said that the tank cars involved in the derailment were unjacketed CPC-1232 cars, a newer model built since 2011 that has to be phased out within five years under the new safety rules. An older model, the DOT-111, must be retired sooner.
The Federal Railroad Administration plans to investigate the accident and said it had dispatched a 10-person team to the site.
"Today's incident is yet another reminder of why we issued a significant, comprehensive rule aimed at improving the safe transport of high-hazard flammable liquids," said Sarah Feinberg, the agency's acting administrator. "The FRA will continue to look at all options available to us to improve safety and mitigate risks."
Railroads have expressed concerns about the new federal safety rules, which they claim will increase costs. The industry is unhappy with a provision that would require tank cars to be equipped with electronically controlled brakes. Industry officials expect that provision of the rule will be challenged, because railroads claim it would impose unreasonable costs on shippers and railroads.
At the same time, lawmakers and safety advocates said that the rules did not go far enough and urged that the older tank cars be phased out more quickly, among other criticisms.