"Evacuate"- an increasingly used word more Americans were told to do over the weekend.
A factory fire and a train derailment--both on Saturday.
Over the weekend, the U.S. experienced additional factory fires and train derailments. Both involved heavy fumes entering the airways and the train wreck included a toxic spill, although that wreck could have been MUCH WORSE.
Here’s what happened on Saturday in Georgia and Maine…
Pinova Plant Fire: Brunswick, GA - April 15, 2023
The Pinova Plant on Georgia’s southeast coast reportedly manufactures resin—a substance that is often converted into polymers and primarily used in lacquers, varnishes, inks, adhesives, plastics, and pharmaceuticals.
The fire began around 7 a.m. eastern time on Saturday the 15.
People living within a half mile of the plant were told to evacuate. Those within one mile of the plant were advised to shelter in place.
The good news is only two people suffered minor burns treated by paramedics on site.
The cause of the fire is unknown and “being investigated.”
The morning after the fire, some residents were still away from their homes. Kathy Slay-Chipp, is hoping to get her sister back in her home after she evacuated due to the plant fire.
“She came over to my house unexpectedly yesterday because she says the smoke was just to horrible to stay in her home," said Kathy Slay-Chipp.
Slay-Chipp says it was a chaotic situation. Slay-Chipp’s sister has health issues and while the black plumes of smoke were bellowing out of the plant, they wondered what could be hidden in the clouds.
“This is a chemical plant and with that type of fire, there is no predicting what possibly could have occurred….Like I said I grew up in this area, before it was Pinova it was Hercules, we have always had concerns about this plant," said Kathy Slay-Chipp.
County officials says the Environmental Protection Agency distributed air monitors around the perimeter of the plant to test and monitor air quality following the blaze, no levels were registered to call for public safety concerns. (source)
Keep in mind—this is the same EPA that told East Palestine residents last month that their water is safe to drink.
Train Derailment: Rockwood, Maine - April 15, 2023
At approximately 8:30 a.m. EST, a Canadian Pacific Kansas City freight train passing through Rockwood, Maine derailed—sending six lumbers cars and three locomotives tumbling off the tracks into a pristine forest area. This gorgeous, wooded area did suffer some fire damage from the wreck:
Three railway workers were rushed to a hospital—although the injuries were reportedly “not life-threatening,” according to the Maine Forest Service.
Bill Jarvis is the chief of the Jackman-Moose River Fire and Rescue Department, and he was one of the first crews at the site. He told NEWS CENTER Maine that three crewmembers onboard one of the locomotives told him they were able to escape by climbing out of a window.
"They could see the tracks and the washout underneath, and they knew they were going to go in, and there was nothing they could do," Jarvis said. "They were extremely lucky. Somebody was watching out for them. Without a doubt. Because if they hadn't have gotten out, there is never a way we would have gotten to them. Just wouldn't have happened." (source)
In this photo, the metal tracks appear to have been completely removed from the wooden railroad ties that hold the tracks in place. In railroad lingo—grizzled locomotive conductors call this a “track washout.”
Whether by pure accident, negligence, or nefarious sabotage—the derailment did not cause a toxic mess for the locals and the state of Maine.
Tragedy was averted because two of the derailed cars carrying hazardous liquids did not spill their loads or ignite, even after the locomotives and other rail cars carrying that were lumber caught fire, officials said.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City is leading cleanup, salvage and repair, working with state agencies and local fire and rescue.
However, a Bangor, Maine news site reports that engine diesel fuel from the train wreckage is leaking into a nearby stream and lake:
Engine diesel fuel from the train derailment in rural Somerset County Saturday is reportedly leaking into a nearby stream and Brassua Lake.
The fuel spilled from the locomotives when three engines and six cars of a Canadian Pacific Kansas City freight train derailed about 15 miles east of Jackman near Rockwood.
That fuel has saturated the soil around the derailment and is leaking into the nearby stream and lake, as evidenced by the sheen on the water, said an environmental professional at the scene who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for their employer.
A company spokesman said it is using boom and absorbing materials to clean it up, but the environmental professional said that isn’t enough. The soil would normally be dug up and removed.
“My concern now is that diesel is flowing from the site into the water and they are not using the most practical and effective means to clean it up,” the professional said.
The company spokesperson and the professional did not know how much diesel spilled nor when cleanup will be completed. The cleanup is being done in coordination with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. (source)
It might be a good idea to combine all these incidents. You have written about them before, too.
Emperor Klaus Schwab says the great reset will come in like a Tsunami. I'm starting to believe him