ND Gov. Dalrymple Calls Derailment Emergency Response “Outstanding”
Crews are still on scene after a BNSF oil train derailed early this morning in Hiemdal, North Dakota…about one hour north of Carrington in Wells County.
6 of the oil cars derailed and 4 were destroyed by fire, the cause is still unknown.
Local officials say they’ve been prepared for this type of situation.
Randi Suckut, Wells County Commissioner says: “We had a table top exercise where we tried to prepare for this exact situation because of what happened in Casselton, and so I think a lot of our responding agencies were up on how to handle this type of situation and it somewhat prepared us for this.”
The billowing black smoke and flames of the accident caused the evacuation of Hiemdial, with a population of around 40.
Governor Dalrymple: “I think we are very fortunate, the fire has died down nicely, no fatalities no injuries, the emergency response appears the be outstanding.”
As the governor surveyed the area, he says the newly implemented state rail inspectors will help but there’s one real answer to stop accidents like the one seen today.
Governor Dalrymple: “The ultimate answer to this challenge is pipelines. And we need pipelines out of the Bakken Region and go east into Minnesota and south as well and the sooner we get them built and get the crude oil into the pipelines the better it’s going to be.”
