Today, Saskatchewan, Canada has been experiencing an evacuation due to spilt dangerous goods. These goods, such as petroleum distillate, were carried by a train of 100 cars but contained petroleum in only 26. Two of them were spilt due to a derailment, causing a fire to erupt with the petroleum as a catalyst. The crew was not injured, but residents in the area have been evacuated. Reports state that the flames have reached 100 feet high! Investigations are currently being carried out by Canada's Transportation Safety Board.
Based on this, we can assume that precautions for this route were not in effect. Such precautions could be to at least have a fire department at hand close by throughout the route in case of emergencies. In fact, something similar to this happened last year when an oil train exploded in Quebec, killing 47. The locomotive was carrying 72 cars with crude oil form North Dakota. Many were missing at the time, with many others enduring serious injuries. The town, Canada has been experiencing numerous derailments since then. It leaves you in wonder as to how these derailments occur and how exactly they can be fixed. Is it the train or the conductor? Perhaps derailments such as these should be integrated into their training to prevent anymore from happening. Or even investing in some type of safety feature to minimize derailments. Highways have been closed in Saskatchewan, with little updates since the explosion, leaving us blind as to exactly how serious the conditions are for the people back home.
Oh my! What a tragic event. Events such as this, is a mighty fine example of insecured manegment. Percaition is the key to survival in this situation.
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