Mid-morning we received a phone call from a friend reporting that a train was leaking phosporus and possibly ablaze a few miles from our home. Her husband is a volunteer firefighter and had been called out. She said they might be evacuating people within a 7-mile radius very soon. Mrs. Cow promptly became quite concerned for our safety. Being an optimist, I attempted to convince her that we would be fine.
This lead to me driving towards the accident scene, of course. I did not see a fire. A second call told us that the train car finally came to a stop within a few hundred feet of a rental house I own on a 40-acre tract adjacent to the railroad track. Fortunately, it is not currently rented.
I arrived at the highway intersection less than a mile from where emergency workers and railroad workers were rapidly trying to eliminate the problem and visited with the Undersheriff who was stationed there to prevent triffic from getting too close. I wasn't terribly worried about any possible damage to my property, but, was quite worried for a friend who lives just across the road from my house. He has ALS (Lou Gehrig's). Fortunately, his health situation was known by the first responders so he and his family were evacuated immediately. Everyone within one mile of the rail car was evacuated without incident. The Undersheriff explained that the crews were attempting to install a new valve on the rail car. Once that was done they would send the train on down the line to let the cleanup workers do what they would have to do.
A quiet Sunday morning was shot all to He-double hockeysticks.
You are a good Neighbor, Holy.
DDSM
Wow
