PREPAREDNESS
Plan for the
Worst The Tiskilwa ethanol tank car fire demonstrates the need for preparedness and cooperation between local fire crews and ethanol plants By Kris Bevill
In the early hours of Oct. 7, 26 cars on a 131-car train destined for the East Coast derailed in northwest Illinois just outside the tiny village of Tiskilwa, Ill., jolting the town’s residents awake as tank cars filled with 30,000 gallons of ethanol exploded into flames. Some said it sounded like bombs going off as the rail cars caught fire. The fire was so bright it looked like the sun was rising from the south, according to one first responder.
december 2011 | Ethanol Producer Magazine | 69