Estevan's emergency services personnel, and residents, were able to breath a sigh of relief Thursday after a train derailment was resolved without major incident or injury.
The derailment, which occurred Thursday at around 11 a.m., saw four tanker cars filled with crude oil jump the tracks just north of the Devonian Industrial Subdivision.
Although the worst was feared in the immediate aftermath, none of the tanker cars ruptured during the derailment, which occurred on a low speed section of track near CP's oil transloading facility but not at it.
"It could have been very serious, but thankfully it was not," said Mayor Roy Ludwig in an interview Monday. "We consider ourselves very fortunate."
Ludwig, who was in Lloydminster for the Saskatchewan City Mayors' Caucus when the derailment occurred was quick to thank the members of Estevan's fire and police departments as well as the emergency measures organization for their quick work in securing and assessing the scene.
"All of our people that were involved did a fantastic job, and it's just a comfort knowing that we have the expertise within our community to deal with these types of situations," he said. "I want to also thank CP. They did a very good job of ensuring that nothing was spilled even though the cars were laid over. They decanted and as it worked out, thank goodness nothing was spilled, so it was a total success."
Thursday's derailment was the City's first since 2004 when a number of cars left the track near Estevan Diversified Services. In that instance, ammonia leaked from the derailed cars, forcing the evacuation of residences in the area.
In the years before and after the 2004 incident, the City's EMO group has been active in planning for the worst-case scenario given the amount of hazardous materials that are transported through Estevan on a daily basis.
Although the worst-case scenario did not materialize, the preparation was evident in the aftermath of the derailment, which is under investigation by Transport Canada.
Fire rescue service personnel arrived at the scene and set about securing the scene and assessing whether or not there was a leak.
By 1:30 that afternoon, a media conference was held at City Hall to update the public and assure them that there was no immediate danger.
"Estevan Fire Services went on the scene and determined the priority level and once it was identified there were no leaks it was downgraded to let's get this situation under control," EMO co-ordinator Helen Fornwald said during the conference. "We put our EMO team on standby.
"This is certainly a downgraded derailment compared to our last one. We've been through it before, and we are still following our protocol and policies and procedures."
Along with the investigation from Transport Canada, the focus following the incident was unloading the crude from the four cars.
CP spokesman Ed Greenberg said crews began that process at 6 a.m. on Friday and finished later that day. Greenberg added the track was repaired and inspected and re-opened to traffic by Saturday. Traffic on the main tracks was not affected.
"The investigation continues into the cause and exactly what took place and that includes interviews and the gathering of evidence, so this process will take a bit of time," Greenberg said.
The tankers, which are owned by the supplier and not CP, were the newly designed units that are made to withstand damage resulting from a derailment.
The issue of rail safety is always a hot topic in Estevan due to the ever-present rail traffic through the city. It became a nationwide concern in 2013 when dozens were killed during an explosion in Lac Megantic, Que., that was caused by a derailment.
Ludwig said the City has been in constant contact with CP about rail safety and the oil transloading facility that opened in 2011 to much controversy.
The mayor said in each meeting with CP Rail, the City has expressed that it does not want to see oil loaded within city limits. Although CP has not acquiesced to the City's demands, Ludwig said the presence of other oil transloading facilities in the southeast have all but ended oil shipments to the Estevan site. The facility remains a major hub for fly ash loading however.
"To my understanding they haven't loaded (oil onto) any cars in Estevan for a few months. They are looking at curtailing, if not altogether stopping, using the transloading facility in Estevan as far as oil goes," said Ludwig who noted the oil in the derailed tankers was not loaded in the city.
Coincidentally, rail safety was also one of the topics raised during the mayors' meetings Thursday in Lloydminster, Ludwig said. For more on that meeting, please see the accompanying story in this week's Mercury.
- With files from Norm Park
