Derailment causes massive train fire in South Nashville
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Crews spent Saturday afternoon working to extinguish a train fire that broke out in the Woodbine area of South Nashville.
A News 2 employee saw the train on fire near Grandview Avenue and Melrose Avenue.
According to Metro Nashville dispatch, 20 units from the Nashville Fire Department (NFD) were dispatched to that incident shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 9.
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When first responders first arrived at the scene, they learned the train had derailed, which punctured the underbelly of the locomotive, causing fuel to spill from the 2,000 gallons of diesel it was carrying. As fuel spilled onto the tracks, a fire ignited, according to officials. Crews had to be careful with how they approached the blaze so they wouldn’t mix water with any electrical charge.
“The first locomotive was de-energized, but the second one still had energy running to it with the diesel fuel leaking out of the bottom, so we had to wait for CSX to get on site so they could de-energize that second locomotive while our personnel were trying to contain the diesel fuel leak that was still happening, so it was a very, kind of, complicated process that was happening simultaneously, a lot of moving pieces and parts, which is why a lot of personnel were called to the scene,” Kendra Loney, the NFD public information officer, explained.
NFD said there are no reports of injuries from the fire, adding that the driver from the locomotive managed to get out safely.
Fire officials said CSX temporarily stopped nearby train traffic until the hazardous materials could be cleared from the tracks, but nobody had to be evacuated in the immediate area.
WATCH: Nashville first responders fight train fire in Woodbine area
Specialized trucks from around Middle Tennessee were called to the scene to remove any remaining diesel from the train car that was leaking fuel. That diesel was hauled off so the car could be removed and the train tracks reopened.
Meanwhile, firefighters sprayed a special foam on the ground and used other absorbents to handle the diesel that had been spilled.
“There was a fire that was happening with that energized car that had a leak going on all at the same time, so if you don’t follow the steps and protocols down to every single step, then you might miss something and you might cause another emergency within that emergency,” Loney said.
No additional details have been released about this incident.
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