Fire chief angrily denies suggestion his crew played role in deadly Lac-Mégantic train disaster
According to the owners of the train that leveled Lac-Mégantic, Que., the simple rupture of a fuel or oil line — the fourth such rupture on a Montreal, Maine & Atlantic locomotive in the last eight years — may have been all that was needed to set in motion one of the most devastating rail disasters in Canadian history.
Either way, both veteran railroaders and local firefighters are disputing company assertions that local firefighters powering down a locomotive in order to put out a small fire was all it took to send 73 oil cars hurtling towards Lac-Mégantic.
“They’re saying the train left because we shut the engine down, which released the brakes,” said Nantes Fire Chief Patrick Lambert, speaking to the National Post on Monday.
“There’s a train parked there right now and the engine is stopped. So do I have to go down to Mégantic and evacuate the whole city because that train is going to leave?”
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Two MMA employees were dispatched to the scene and “inspected the train with us,” said Mr. Lambert. “MMA told the leading fire officer that everything was OK, the fire was out, everything was secure, you guys can leave.”
Within minutes of the firefighters pulling away, however, the train had broken loose.
“About five minutes after the firemen left, I felt the vibration of a train moving down the track. I then saw the train move by without its lights on,” nearby resident Andre Gendron told Reuters on Monday. “It wasn’t long after that I heard the explosion,” he added.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/08/fire-chief-denies-suggestion-his-crew-played-role-in-deadly-lac-megantic-train-disaster/
The best article on the events that I've seen yet.
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