Tag Archives: CSX

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion

LOCAL MEDIA CHRONOLOGY: WV derailment and explosion

Repost from WVNS TV, Ghent, WV
[Editor:  These local updates go back in reverse chronological order to the original breaking news report at 2:21pm on Monday, about an hour after the derailment.  – RS]

UPDATE: Unified command set up in train derailment response

By Douglas Fritz, Updated Feb 18, 2015 2:15 PM PST

5:15 p.m. Wed., 2/18/15 UPDATE:
CSX representatives stated that fires from the train derailment on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015 are still burning and are being allow to burn themselves out.  Officials said that is the safest course of action for the community and emergency responders.  They plan on moving the train cars that were not involved in the fire sometime on Wednesday, Feb. 18.  There are concerns that compressing the fire may cause oil to get into the water and the foam mixture used to treat this fire could have an environmental impact.  CSX is working with the EPA to develop an environmental management plan.

“Top priorities for response personnel remain the safety of the community and responders, and mitigating the impact to the environment,” said Federal On Scene Coordinator, Capt. Lee Boone.

Cars unaffected by the derailment have already been removed from the area.  Response teams began removing cars unaffected by the fire on Wednesday afternoon.  No oil has been pumped out of the unaffected tank cars.  The cars will be removed with the product still inside, because the oil cannot be pumped out of the derailed cars while the fire is still burning.  When it is safe to do so, CSX will begin transferring oil from the damaged cars to other tanks for removal from the site.  Boats are in the water to monitor the situation and keep the ice at bay.  CSX is working with the U.S. Coast Guard to make sure the water traffic is safe.

Around 100 to 125 people are currently displaced after the evacuation.  Those people are currently at hotels in Fayette County and Charleston, WV.  Some are staying with friends and family.  The evacuation will remain in place until the fire is completely burned out.  There is no timetable on when this will happen, but officials are hoping that the weather will help.

The cause of the accident had not been determined.  The Federal Railroad Administration is leading the investigation, but those crews cannot look at the burned cars because the fire is still burning.  They will be looking for train handling, which includes breaking and speed; condition of the track; condition of the train and external actors such as the weather.

1:30 p.m. Wed., 2/18/15 UPDATE:

Efforts to clean up and investigate the CSX train that derailed on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015 continue days after the accident happened.  A command center was set up in Montgomery, WV and crews from Montgomery Fire Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, the EPA and CSX are based out of that location.

Route 61 in the area near the accident is still closed.  Officials said it will remain closed until the fire is completely out.  Crews are taking air and soil quality samples, and everyone who is working at the scene is required to wear an air quality monitoring device.

Once the fire finally burns itself out, railroad cars that are able to be put back on the tracks and moved will be taken away.  Officials said that the tracks will be double and triple checked.  AMTRAK passenger trains that typically use this stretch of railway are being re-routed around the area.

12:45 p.m. Wed., 2/18/15 UPDATE:

The National Transportation Safety Board is working with CSX and the Federal Railroad Administration on the investigation into the train derailment that happened on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015.  Investigators from the NTSB’s office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials are in communication with emergency response crews.  CSX and the FRA are providing investigators with detailed damage reports and pictures of the derailed tank cars.  The NTSB said that data from this wreck will be compared to tank car design specifications and similar derailments including Casselton, ND on Dec. 30, 2013 and Lynchburg, VA on April 30, 2014.

“This accident is another reminder of the need to improve the safety of transporting hazardous materials by rail,” said NTSB acting chairman Christopher A. Hart.  “That is why the issue is included on our Most Wanted List.  If we identify any new safety concerns as a result of this derailment, the Board will act expeditiously to issue new safety recommendations.”

According to the release from the NTSB, the cause of the derailment is still not determined.  The investigation has found that after the derailment and unknown amount of crude oil leaked onto the ground and immediately caught fire.  The fires were allowed to burn themselves out.

West Virginia American Water announced that tank levels in the Montgomery system as of 8 a.m. showed that water service is restored to all customers.  The company is advising customers that they me have low water pressure while crews work to bring the system up to normal operating pressure.

A precautionary boil water advisory is still in effect for all customers who have service from the Montgomery system.  This is in accordance with requirements from the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health.  Customers will be notified when the boil water advisory is lifted.

Water samples are being taken every hour by the West Virginia National Guard 35th Civil Support Team.  A full spectrum volatile organic compounds analysis is run on each sample.  The company said all of the tests have come back showing no detection for crude oil related compounds.  Meanwhile, West Virginia American Water delivered another large quantity of bottled water to Valley high School overnight.

4:00 p.m. Tues., 2/17/15 UPDATE:

The investigation into the derailment of a CSX train on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015 reveals more details about the accident.  According to CSX, 26 tanker cars derailed during the incident.  Of those cars, 19 were involved in the fire.  As of 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a limited number of small fires were still burning off.

CSX representatives are working with local, state and federal officials to remove the cars that were not affected by the derailment from the scene.  They are also deploying environmental protective measures in the affected area, the Kanawha River and the creek near the CSX tracks.

Officials said that fewer than 800 people were affected by power outages that occurred as a result of the fire.  Around 100 to 125 area residents have been temporarily displaced from their homes.  Crews with Appalachian Power are working to restore power to the homes without electricity.

2:30 p.m. Tues., 2/17/15 UPDATE:

West Virginia American Water issued a press release on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015 regarding the train accident that lead to a shutdown of the Montgomery water treatment plant.  The plant was expected to be restarted at 1 p.m.  The West Virginia National Guard 35th Civil Support Team conducted three rounds of water quality testing with technicians at West Virginia American Water’s laboratory at the Kanawha Valley water treatment plant.  The samples were taken from different location at the plant and the river.  They showed non-detectable levels of components of crude oil.

As a result of plant being restarted, a precautionary boil water advisory has been issued for the system which it serves.  That affects around 2,000 customers in the communities of Montgomery, Smithers, Cannelton, London, Handley and Hughes Creek.  Residents in that area should bring any water used for drinking, cooking or bathing to a full rolling boil for at least one minute.  The water should then be allowed to cool before use.  The following steps are also recommended:

  • Throw away beverages and ice cubes if made with tap water that has not been boiled.
  • Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking.
  • Provide pets with boiled water after cooling.
  • Do not use home filter devices in place of boiling or using bottles water; most home filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms.
  • Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries.

Bottled water distribution sites were set up on Tuesday afternoon at Montgomery Town Hall on Third Street in Montgomery, WV and Valley High School in Smithers.  The sites are for customers who are waiting for the water service to be restored.  West Virginia American Water provided several truckloads of bottled water and more are expected to be arriving throughout the day.  The company expects all affected customers to have their service fully restored within one or two days.

12:30 p.m. Tues., 2/17/15 UPDATE: 

Officials with CSX announced on Tuesday morning that shelters for those people affected by the train derailment in the Powellton Hollow area have been consolidated.  There are now two shelters set up in the area.  Those include Valley High School, which is being run by the American Red Cross, and the Glen Ferris Inn on U.S. Route 60.

The shelter at the Glen Ferris Inn is also the site of CSX’s community outreach center.  Melanie Cost, with CSX, said that the company is working to get people back into their homes as soon as possible.  The outreach center will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until further notice.

Previous locations of shelters included Armstrong Creek Fire Department, WVU Tech’s Gymnasium, Montgomery Fire Department and Valley Elementary School.  Those shelters are now closed.

UPDATE Tues., 2/17/15 : 

WV Politicians react to the train derailment as recovery efforts for a train wreck in the Powellton Hollow area proceed, West Virginia’s leaders in Congress announced they will be visiting the site on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015.  U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) met with emergency first responders , local officials, area residents and CSX representatives.  According to a release from the Senator’s office, he is helping to coordinate and open lines of communication between federal, state and local administrators.

“First and foremost, after touring the derailment site, I am thankful that all West Virginians are safe.  We must work together to find ways to ensure this type of accident does not happen again and transport this material s safe as humanly possible,” said Sen. Manchin.  “I will be working with federal, state and industry officials in the coming weeks to make the necessary improvement to secure our safety.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (D-WV) said her staff is available to assist those in need.  The number for her Charleston Office is 304-347-5372.

“As the response to the Fayette County train derailment continues, my sole focus is making sure West Virginians have access to the information and resources they need.  I’ve spoken with Governor Tomblin and CSX to ensure we’re doing everything possible for those impacted by this devastating incident, and my office is in constant contact with CSX as well as federal, state and local officials.”

Congressman Evan Jenkins (R-3rd District) has also said he will be in the area.  Congressman Alex Mooney (R-2nd District) offered his comments on the situation.

“It is my sincere hope that as the derailment situation progresses we continue to avoid an serious or life-threatening injuries.  I believe the top priorities now are to protect downstream citizens’ clean drinking water and contain further spillage,” said Congressman Mooney.  “I stand ready to work with first responders and federal regulators on the scene to determine the cause of the incident and to return evacuated residents to their homes as swiftly as safety allow.  My Charleston office is ready to help with any citizens’ concerns or questions at 304-925-5964.”

West Virginia Delegate Kayla Kessinger (R-Fayette) announced that she is meeting with the Fayette County delegation to the WV Legislature on Tuesday.  The goal is to discuss how they can work together to help those impacted by the accident.

“I am hopeful we will use every tool at our disposal to help in the response.  We must assure that safety is the top priority for -rea residents and the emergency workers responding to this accident,” said Del. Kessinger.

8:00 a.m. Tues., 2/17/15 UPDATE:

Officials at the Emergency Operations Center estimate the fire will burn for another 24 hours after a CSX train derailed in Mount Carbon in Fayette County, WV.  Another explosion rocked the area at about 11:30 p.m. last night which hampered the cleanup effort. No injuries were reported in that explosion.

The surrounding area has been evacuated for a 1.5 mile radius.

7:30 a.m. Tues., 2/17/15 UPDATE:

The West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety has announced that efforts to support first responders and emergency management personnel who are working to clean up a oil train derailment continued throughout the night and into the morning on Tuesday, Feb. 17.  Officials said initial reports that one or more tanker cars had ended up in the water appear to have been false. The West Virginia National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management are helping to coordinate the overall response and field local requests for resources and assistance.  (CLICK HERE to read more about bakken crude shipment safety concerns)

The response includes providing potable water for customers of the Montgomery water treatment plant.  The National Guard 35th Civil Support Team is drawing samples to test for spilled crude oil. West Virginia American Water, with the help of the West Virginia Department of Transportation, is providing a pair of 8,000 gallon tankers to supply Montgomery General Hospital and a nearby long-term care facility to ensure their boilers can continue to operate.  The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources is working with local water supply facilities to ensure the protection of public health.

CSX and the American Red Cross are assisting residents who were evacuated from the area as a result of the accident.  Shelters have been set up by state agencies at Valley High School in Smithers and Armstrong Creek Fire Department in Powellton.  CSX plans to open a community outreach center to address needs as a result of the train derailment.  That center till be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until further notice.  It is set up at the Glass-in Riverside Room at the Glen Ferris Inn on U.S. Route 60 in Glen Ferris.

The Montgomery water treatment plant still had water in its reserves at 10 p.m. on Monday night.  The intake valve at the plant was closed shortly after the accident happened to keep crude oil from entering the system.  The intake valve at the Cedar Grove plant, which is further downstream from the accident, is still open.  Crews at Cedar Grove are monitoring water approaching the intake for any signs of crude oil.7:30 p.m. UPDATE:

West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D) declared a state of emergency for Fayette and Kanawha Counties at 5:40 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015.  The declaration was in response to the CSX train derailment that lead to the evacuation of the Powellton Hollow area, which includes Boomer and Adena Village.  No other counties were included in this declaration.

“Declaring a State of Emergency ensures that residents of both Kanawha and Fayette counties have the access they need to resources necessary to handle all stages of the emergency,” said Gov. Tomblin. “State official are on site and will continue to work with local and federal officials, as well as CSX representatives throughout the incident.”

At 6:30 p.m. on Monday, more shelters were opened to accommodate residents of the area affected by the derailment.  Those shelters are at the Montgomery Fire Department, Valley High School in Smithers, the WVU Tech Gymnasium in Montgomery, Kimberly Community Center in Armstrong Creek and Falls View School.  Earlier in the day a shelter was set up at Valley High School.

Firefighters with the Boomer Fire Department said that there have been at least six explosions in connection with the fire that started from a CSX train that derailed in the Powellton Hollow area of Fayette County on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015.  The derailment happened at around 1:30 p.m.  As a result, the entire town of Boomer was evacuated by 4:30 p.m.

The train consisted of two locomotives and 109 rail cars.  It was traveling from North Dakota to Yorktown, VA carrying crude oil. The scene extends along WV Route 61, near Armstrong Creek road. According to firefighters, the largest explosion happened near a house that was between the railroad tracks and the Kanawha River.  They do not believe anyone was home at the time.  State Troopers said there have been no fatalities reported.  According to a release from CSX one person was being treated for potential inhalation, but no other injuries were reported.

CSX released this statement regarding the derailment:

“CSX teams are working with first responders on the derailment this afternoon of an oil train near Mount Carbon, WV.  At least one rail car appears to have ruptured and caught fire. The derailment has resulted in the precautionary evacuation of nearby communities, and precautionary suspension of operation at the Cedar Grove and Montgomery water treatment plants. CSX is working with the Red Cross and other relief organizations to address residents’ needs, taking into account winter storm conditions.  These efforts include shelters for residents who have been evacuated.  CSX teams also are working with first responders to address the fire, to determine how many rail cars derailed, and to deploy environmental protective and monitoring measures on land, air and in the nearby Kanawha River.  The company also is working with public officials and investigative agencies to address their needs.”

Crews said oil is burning everywhere.  There are some environmental concerns if the oil is under the frozen spots in the river.  Crews on the scene said that the oil in those locations will not burn and will have “all kinds of negative impacts on the water.”

At around 3 p.m. West Virginia American Water closed the intakes to the water treatment plants at Montgomery and Cedar Grove to prevent contamination.  A release from West Virginia American Water shows that approximately 2,000 customers in the Montgomery area will lose their water service in the next few hours if the plant remains shut down.  The company is waiting for confirmation from the WV Department of Environmental Protection and emergency responders about whether or not crude oil migrated into the Kanawha River from Armstrong Creek.  The company has been given permission by the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health to restart the Montgomery water treatment plant if there is clear confirmation that crude oil and other potential contaminants did not reach the Kanawha River.

The Montgomery water treatment plant provides service to the communities of Montgomery, Smithers, Cannelton, London, Handley and Hughes Creek.  West Virginia American Water is working with emergency responders and the Bureau of Public Health on continued response efforts. The company is also working to identify additional emergency water supply options.

“West Virginia American Water apologizes to all it’s customers for this inconvenience and thank them for their patience as we work quickly to respond to this event.”

3:00 p.m., Mon., 2/16/15 UPDATE:

Water intakes in Montgomery and Cedar Grove have been closed because of the train accident along the Kanawha River.  That is according to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Public Health.

It is confirmed that the train was carrying crude oil, some of which spilled into the Kanawha River.  While the intakes are closed, customers are urged to conserve water.  The Montgomery Water System is part of West Virginia American Water Co.  The company released a statement regarding the accident.

“West Virginia American Water is aware of the train derailment just east of Montgomery on the Fayette-Kanawha County line.   The Montgomery water treatment plant, which draws water from the Kanawha River a few miles downstream of the accident, was shut down at approximately 2:30 p.m.,” said Laura Jordan, the External Affairs Manager.  “Customers in the Montgomery area are asked to conserve water and only use it for essential functions at this time.  West Virginia American Water is working with emergency responders and the Bureau for Public Health on continued response efforts.”

The West Virginia State Police expanded the evacuation order for the area at around 3:15 p.m. to include anyone with half of a mile of the fire.  Anyone who is not responding to the scene as a part of the emergency crews is asked to avoid the area.

2:30 p.m., Mon., 2/16/15 UPDATE:

Dispatchers have announced that the towns of Adena Village and Boomer Bottom are being evacuated because of a nearby train derailment.

Officials said Route 61 is being shut down as a result of the derailment. A shelter is being set up at Valley Elementary School for people who are being evacuated.

According to Lawrence Messina, communications director for the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, at least one tanker has fallen into the river, and authorities believe crude oil is in the tanker. Messina said officials were unsure if anything else was in the tanker. Messina said the Department of Environmental Protection also was responding to the accident to assess the situation.

2:21 p.m., Mon., 2/16/15 Original Story: 

Firefighters and emergency crews have responded to a train accident in Montgomery, WV busy.

The accident happened at about 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015. Details on what exactly happened are still limited at this time. Officials have said that a train has derailed. The location of the accident is near Montgomery, within a four mile radius. Watch for updates hear and on the air as information becomes available.

Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion, Fire, Funding for emergency response

Man whose home was destroyed in train accident shares story

Repost from WSAZ 3 News, Charleston, WV

WSAZ EXCLUSIVE: Man Whose Home was Destroyed in Train Accident Shares Story

By: Andrew Colegrove, Feb 17, 2015 11:58 PM ET


FAYETTE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) — The man who lived in the home destroyed in Monday’s train accident and explosions remains very much shaken.

“I barely escaped with my life,” Morris Bounds said.

Bounds says he had just done some cleaning when he heard a loud noise coming from the train tracks.

“I just heard metal banging together,” he said.

He looked out the blinds through his kitchen window up toward the tracks.

“I saw these tanker cars coming over the hill at me,” he said.

The 68-year-old retired machinist with bad knees, who has difficulty walking, says somehow he was able to muster the strength to take off running.

“I made it about 10 feet and heard the house caving in behind me,” he said. “I ran out of the house in my socks in the snow. The house was engulfed in flames.”

Bounds’ daughter and grandchildren had been staying at his home for a couple weeks and had just left the day before the accident.

His wife Patricia was in the hospital for open heart surgery.

He says had they been home, they’d have almost certainly all been killed.

His son Morris Jr. helped build the home 25 years ago.

“It was like a horror movie,” Morris Jr. said when describing what the scene was like when he arrived. “It’s going to be really sad for a while.”

Although he lost everything other than the clothes he was wearing, Bounds says he’s glad the accident happened where it did and not farther up the tracks, where more people could’ve been hurt.

Bounds is staying with his brother for now.

He did have to be treated at the hospital for smoke inhalation.

His wife Patricia is out of the hospital following her surgery, as well.

CSX has said they will fully compensate the Bounds couple.

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion

NY TIMES: Spilled Oil Keeps Flames Burning After a Train Derailment in West Virginia

Repost from The New York Times
[Editor:  A friend read this and observed, “A veteran of Iraq said it was ‘like a 500 pound bomb going off.’  Children were running barefoot down an icy road carrying their pets and said they ‘thought they were going to die.’  This should get everyone’s attention, even the numb skulls at DOT!”  – RS]

Spilled Oil Keeps Flames Burning After a Train Derailment in West Virginia

By Dan Heyman & Richard Pérez-Peña, Feb 17, 2015
A train that carried crude oil continued to smolder on Tuesday after derailing in southern West Virginia the day before and setting off multiple explosions. Smoke remained visible from miles away on Tuesday. Credit Marcus Constantino / Reuters

BOOMER, W.Va. — A train hauling millions of pounds of crude oil that derailed on Monday was still burning Tuesday night as oil poured from the wreckage.

Residents relied on bottled water that was trucked into town after the utility West Virginia American Water, fearing that oil had been dumped into the Kanawha River, closed a treatment plant downstream, in Montgomery, on Monday. The company reopened the plant on Tuesday afternoon, saying tests had shown “nondetectable levels of the components of crude oil” in the river. Still, aerial photographs appeared to show oil in a nearby creek, and the utility advised its 2,000 customers in the area to boil water before using it.

The CSX train, with 109 tanker cars and two locomotives, derailed about 1:20 p.m. here in the southern part of the state, sending fireballs ripping through the air. The governor’s office released a statement Tuesday saying that 26 tankers had derailed and that “19 of those tankers were involved in the fire.”

Scenes-from-WV-train-fire_WOAY

Spills and fires in derailments have prompted concerns about the safety of transporting oil by rail. In 2011, the American Association of Railroads required that new tanker cars meet higher standards to resist rupture in accidents, though it did not require refitting older cars. CSX said the tankers in Monday’s crash had all been built to the new specifications.

Scattered fires still burned in pools of oil late Tuesday, the dark plume of smoke visible from many miles away, and a bitter aroma of burning plastic filled the air. Several tankers were charred an oily black, all their markings obscured.

In the derailment, several tanker cars jumped the tracks entirely, piling against each other at odd angles or tumbling down the riverbank. There were multiple explosions, as flames shot hundreds of feet in the sky. Residents, some of whom were ordered to evacuate, said at least one house had burned to the ground in a few minutes, and firefighters from several surrounding departments fought the blaze in frigid conditions, with temperatures of 13 degrees or less.

“It was like a 500-pound bomb going off,” said Brandon Truman, 32, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who lives in this town, which is across the ice-clogged river from the crash site. “You could feel the pressure and the heat.”

He and his neighbors said the second blast had been the biggest, rattling their houses and their nerves. Residents noted the presence of chemical plants in the region and said their fear had initially been compounded by wondering what kinds of toxins might have been in the rail cars.

“We ran because we didn’t know what it was,” Mr. Truman said.

Leslie Bowles, who lives on the same short street, said, “It literally blew my door open.” Ms. Bowles said she had loaded her two small children into a car driven by her father-in-law and “just said, ‘Go.’ Just said, ‘Get out of here.’ ”

She and her husband, James, along with many of their neighbors, found their own vehicles stuck in the snow, and they fled on foot.

Cameron Sigmon, 12, said he and his sister had run down to the frozen road, without socks, carrying their dogs.

“Heck yeah, I was scared,” he said. “I thought I was going to die.”

About 200 to 300 people were ordered by the local authorities to evacuate on Monday. They took shelter in schools, a fire station and a community center, said Jennifer Sayre, the Kanawha County manager. “The railroad has made arrangements for some families to get hotel rooms,” she said.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency in Kanawha and Fayette Counties on Monday. CSX and local officials said that one person had been treated for possible respiratory trouble related to the accident but that they knew of no other injuries. It was not clear if any structures were damaged, but several hundred homes lost electricity.

The train was carrying oil from North Dakota to a ship terminal in Yorktown, Va.

Such accidents have become more common as oil shipment by rail has soared with the boom in oil production from the Bakken shale formation underlying parts of the northern Plains states and central Canada. Before 2009, fewer than 10,000 tank cars of oil were transported by rail each year in the United States, according to the railroad association, but that traffic jumped to more than 230,000 cars in 2012, and more than 430,000 in 2013.

The federal Department of Transportation has proposed even tougher standards for tankers, and the Canadian authorities have required the retrofitting of older cars by 2017.

State, federal and CSX investigators were headed to the scene of the crash here to determine the cause and the extent of environmental damage.

It was not clear whether the unusually low temperatures or the snowstorm barreling through the region at the time had played a role in the accident.

Dan Heyman reported from Boomer, W. Va., and Richard Pérez-Peña from New York.

 

Bakken Crude, CPC-1232, Crude By Rail, Derailment, DOT-111, Evacuation, Explosion, Federal Regulation (U.S.), Fire, Hazmat notification, Oil spill, Tank car design, Tank car manufacture, Tank car retrofit

AP: Fire from W.Va. oil train derailment burns for 3rd day

Repost from The State, Columbia, South Carolina

W.Va. oil train derailment was 1 of 3 with safer tank cars

By John Raby & Jonathan Mattise, Feb 18, 2015,  UPDATED Feb 18, 2015 1:33pm ET
A fire burns Monday, Feb. 16, 2015, after a train derailment near Charleston, W.Va. Nearby residents were told to evacuate as state emergency response and environmental officials headed to the scene. THE REGISTER-HERALD, STEVE KEENAN — AP Photo

MOUNT CARBON, W.Va. — The fiery derailment of a train carrying crude oil in West Virginia is one of three in the past year involving tank cars that already meet a higher safety standard than what federal law requires — leading some to suggest even tougher requirements that industry representatives say would be costly.

Hundreds of families were evacuated and nearby water treatment plants were temporarily shut down after cars derailed from a train carrying 3 million gallons of North Dakota crude Monday, shooting fireballs into the sky, leaking oil into a Kanawha River tributary and burning down a house nearby. It was snowing at the time, but it is not yet clear if weather was a factor.

The fire smoldered for a third day Wednesday. State public safety division spokesman Larry Messina said the fire was 85 percent contained.

The train’s tanks were a newer model — the 1232 — designed during safety upgrades voluntarily adopted by the industry four years ago. The same model spilled oil and caught fire in Timmins, Ontario on Saturday, and last year in Lynchburg, Virginia.

A series of ruptures and fires have prompted the administration of President Barack Obama to consider requiring upgrades such as thicker tanks, shields to prevent tankers from crumpling, rollover protections and electronic brakes that could make cars stop simultaneously, rather than slam into each other.

If approved, increased safety requirements now under White House review would phase out tens of thousands of older tank cars being used to carry highly flammable liquids.

“This accident is another reminder of the need to improve the safety of transporting hazardous materials by rail,” said Christopher Hart, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Oil industry officials had been opposed to further upgrading the 1232 cars because of costs. But late last year they changed their position and joined with the railway industry to support some upgrades, although they asked for time to make the improvements.

Oil shipments by rail jumped from 9,500 carloads in 2008 to more than 435,000 in 2013, driven by a boom in the Bakken oil patch of North Dakota and Montana, where pipeline limitations force 70 percent of the crude to move by rail, according to American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers.

The downside: Trains hauling Bakken-region oil have been involved in major accidents in Virginia, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Alabama and Canada, where 47 people were killed by an explosive derailment in 2013 in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

Reports of leaks and other oil releases from tank cars are up as well, from 12 in 2008 to 186 last year, according to Department of Transportation records reviewed by The Associated Press.

Just Saturday — two days before the West Virginia wreck — 29 cars of a 100-car Canadian National Railway train carrying diluted bitumen crude derailed in a remote area 50 miles south of Timmins, Ontario, spilling oil and catching fire. That train was headed from Alberta to Eastern Canada.

The train Monday was bound for an oil shipping depot in Yorktown, Virginia, along the same route where three tanker cars plunged into the James River in Lynchburg, Virginia, prompting an evacuation last year.

The train derailed near unincorporated Mount Carbon just after passing through Montgomery, a town of 1,946, on a stretch where the rails wind past businesses and homes crowded between the water and the steep, tree-covered hills. All but two of the train’s 109 cars were tank cars, and 26 of them left the tracks.

Fire crews had little choice but to let the tanks burn themselves out. Each carried up to 30,000 gallons of crude.

One person — the owner of the destroyed home — was treated for smoke inhalation, but no other injuries were reported, according to the train company, CSX. The two-person crew, an engineer and conductor, managed to decouple the train’s engines from the wreck behind it and walk away unharmed.

The NTSB said its investigators will compare this wreck to others including Lynchburg and one near Casselton, N.D., when a Bakken crude train created a huge fireball that forced the evacuation of the farming town.

No cause has been determined, said CSX regional vice president Randy Cheetham. He said the tracks had been inspected just three days before the wreck.

“They’ll look at train handling, look at the track, look at the cars. But until they get in there and do their investigation, it’s unwise to do any type of speculation,” he said.

By Tuesday evening, power crews were restoring electricity, water treatment plants were going back online, and most of the local residents were back home. Initial tests showed no crude near water plant intake points, state Environmental Protection spokeswoman Kelley Gillenwater said.

State officials do have some say over rail safety.

Railroads are required by federal order to tell state emergency officials where trains carrying Bakken crude are traveling. CSX and other railroads called this information proprietary, but more than 20 states rejected the industry’s argument, informing the public as well as first-responders about the crude moving through their communities.

West Virginia is among those keeping it secret. State officials responded to an AP Freedom of Information request by releasing documents redacted to remove nearly every detail.

There are no plans to reconsider after this latest derailment, said Melissa Cross, a program manager for the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Contributors include Joan Lowy in Washington, D.C.; Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana; and Pam Ramsey in Charleston, West Virginia. Mattise reported from Charleston.