Home»BALTIMORE COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT»INCIDENTS»2013 Fires and Incidents»2-Alarms + HazMat Rosedale-CSX Train Derailment 5-28-13

On Tuesday May 28, 2013 at approximately 1400 hours, a series of events began to unfold that would trigger a horrific explosion and rock the lives of hundreds of people in the normally peaceful town of Rosedale located in eastern Baltimore County.
At 1402 a commercial roll-off garbage truck being driven by retired Baltimore County firefighter John Alban, Jr. crossed the railroad tracks in the 7500 block of Lake Drive near 66th Street and was struck by a 45-car CSX freight train traveling from Selkirk, New York to Waycross, Georgia. The train, carrying many various products, was going about 45-50 miles per hour when it slammed into the rear of the truck and drove it about 100 feet away trapping Alban in the cab of the truck alongside the tracks. That triggered a derailment and fire another hundred yards down the tracks, followed five minutes later by a massive explosion and fireball that rocked the area. A large 2-story steel building directly across from the site had all of its siding blown off of the front and another brick building in line, two streets to the north had all of its windows blown out and doors blown off of their hinges and frames. Many houses and businesses within about a one-mile radius sustained damages to their properties ranging from minor cracks to substantial. The explosion was felt as far north as Harford County and Anne Arundel County to the south. The resulting smoke plume could be seen for miles in every direction.
As the first calls of the incident were being received Engine 51 from Baltimore City went to investigate the large column of smoke in the area just as Baltimore County struck out a full box assignment for the reported train derailment. When Engine 51 arrived they also requested a full box assignment. Baltimore County then started to receive reports of the train into a building so an additional full rescue box assignment was dispatched. When crews arrived they found the wreckage of the truck and began to extricate Alban from the mangled cab. He was freed and transported by ambulance to Shock Trauma in serious condition but no life threatening injuries. Neither one of the trains crew was injured.
Within another 10 minutes a second alarm and hazmat task force was added to the incident. Crews now turned their attention to the fire that involved 15 derailed cars of which three contained hazardous materials and were burning. Two of those cars on fire contained terephthalic acid and sodium chlorate, chemicals which are used in industrial processing.
As a precaution a 20-block area was evacuated and a residential area west of the scene was under a voluntary evacuation order.
The fire continued to burn for another 5 hours until water was put onto the fire to start cooling it down. By nightfall the situation was being contained and was declared under control at around midnight. Only a few fire units remained on the scene into the next few days as CSX moved the unaffected cars away and started to remove the derailed cars one-by-one to begin their investigation.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Rail Administration responded to the scene and would remain on the scene for the next week to recreate and determine the circumstances and cause of the crash. Police are also investigating the truck collision and will determine if any charges will be placed on the truck driver.
By early Thursday one of the two main line tracks was reopened to train traffic through the area and the second was reopened by noon.
Building engineers were also called into the area to check on the damaged buildings to determine if they were safe to be reopened for business. Insurance adjustors would also be surveying the damage to the homes and businesses in the area.
The NTSB reported that the estimated damage to the train was $505,000 and $120,000 to the tracks involved.
It was really a miracle that there were no deaths or serious injuries as a result of the accident and explosion. Only a handful of minor injuries were reported as people were knocked down by the initial explosion or hurt as ceilings and debris fell on them in their homes and buildings. John Alban was released from Shock Trauma on June 2nd and the authorities from the NTSB and County Police have been in contact with him to interview him regarding his side of the accident.