Authorities say six ethanol tanker cars caught fire Saturday morning after a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad train derailed on a bridge southeast of Scotland. The derailment was reported about 6:15AM. Several tanker cars caught fire and were still burning around noon.
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The derailed tanker cars were near the front of the train, said Lee Rettig of the Bon Homme County Emergency Management Department. He said no cause for the derailment had been determined.
Scotland Fire Chief Mike Mehrer said additional crews were called to the scene. Crews also plan to fix the wooden bridge that was damaged. She says in a statement that there were no injuries and no nearby structures were threatened by the fire. There are no homes or buildings close to the rail line. Mehrer said it’s standard procedure to let ethanol burn itself off.
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The local response effort is being led by the Scotland Fire Department and also includes firefighters from Lesterville, Menno, Tabor, and Tyndall.
