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Civil defense sirens wailed and major highways into Baltimore were closed after a freight train hauling hazardous chemicals caught fire yesterday afternoon in a century-old railroad tunnel under Howard Street, shutting down much of the city's downtown.
Choking black smoke spewed from both ends of the 1.7-mile Howard Street Tunnel, and fear of an explosion or toxic fumes from a cargo that included dangerous acids prompted authorities to ban pedestrians and vehicles within five blocks of its openings at Camden Yards and Mount Royal Station.
Problems were expected to continue today, complicated by a water main break above the tunnel at Howard and Lombard streets that flooded the roadway and nearby businesses, and had officials speculating on whether it was related to the train fire.
Firefighters were trying early today to reach the source of the fire deep in the tunnel, using thermal imaging devices. There was speculation that the train had derailed, but the cause of the fire was unknown.
The crisis began about 3:10 p.m., according to CSX railroad officials and the train's two-man crew, when an emergency air brake halted the train in mid-tunnel.
Its conductor and engineer -- the only known occupants of the northbound, 60-car train -- said they were unable to repressurize the brakes. They thought initially that the smoke was exhaust from the diesel engines and set about uncoupling and driving them the last quarter of the way out of the tunnel.
By the time the Fire Department was notified at 4:15 p.m., black smoke was rising through manhole covers on Howard Street and the situation was falling out of control. The Fire Department sounded five alarms in assembling 125 firefighters and equipment.
As firefighters aimed water cannons from each end toward a blaze they could not see in the smoky blackness, activities above ground slowly came to a standstill.
Drivers were trapped for hours on gridlocked streets, and people waited at curbs for buses halted on their rounds. The Metro subway was closed for an hour until inspectors were sure there was no smoke in the tubes, and light rail service was severed near its midpoint.
The second game of a day-night Orioles double-header was canceled, downtown stores closed, and the University of Baltimore's evening classes halted. The Coast Guard closed the Inner Harbor to boat traffic at 5 p.m.
The water main break about 6 p.m. knocked out electrical power to nearly 1,200 residences and businesses, reduced or cut off water pressure as far south as Port Covington and left part of Lombard Street under 2 feet of water.
Firefighters tried to reach the train from the southern end of the tunnel early but were forced back by what they thought were chemicals that made their skin burn.
About a half-dozen firefighters wearing standard turnout gear went in with hoses, trying to reach the train about three-quarters of a mile away through smoke and intense heat, said Fire Department Lt. Jim Boyer.
"They got within 300 yards of the derailment, but they felt the skin on their necks burning," he said, speculating that chemicals had reacted with perspiration. "You can't fight a fire from 300 yards.
"Any chemical situation, plus in an enclosed space like a tunnel, that's terrifying," said Boyer, a Baltimore firefighter for three decades. "I haven't seen anything like this since I did damage control in the Navy 30 years ago."
At least 22 people, including two firefighters with chest pains, were treated at area hospitals, most for respiratory or eye irritation, officials reported.
Many of the freight cars were carrying wood pulp and other combustibles, but nine were carrying chemicals from North Carolina to New Jersey, including five tank cars full of acids.
Two were full of fluorosilicic acid, two of hydrochloric acid, and one of glacial acetic acid. Other substances on the train's manifest were ethylhexyl phthalate, propylene and tripropylene glycol.
Among the most dangerous was the fluorosalicic acid, a chemical that, diluted, protects children's teeth from cavities. In its concentrated form, it can cause severe burns to skin, lungs, nose and throat, with the effects often taking hours to appear.
Most of the other chemicals on the train were common ingredients used in manufacturing. Typical of these modern multipurpose chemicals is propylene glycol, a compound used to de-ice airplanes and plumbing pipes, and also used as a solvent in food ingredients.
Choking black smoke spewed from both ends of the 1.7-mile Howard Street Tunnel, and fear of an explosion or toxic fumes from a cargo that included dangerous acids prompted authorities to ban pedestrians and vehicles within five blocks of its openings at Camden Yards and Mount Royal Station.
Problems were expected to continue today, complicated by a water main break above the tunnel at Howard and Lombard streets that flooded the roadway and nearby businesses, and had officials speculating on whether it was related to the train fire.
Firefighters were trying early today to reach the source of the fire deep in the tunnel, using thermal imaging devices. There was speculation that the train had derailed, but the cause of the fire was unknown.
The crisis began about 3:10 p.m., according to CSX railroad officials and the train's two-man crew, when an emergency air brake halted the train in mid-tunnel.
Its conductor and engineer -- the only known occupants of the northbound, 60-car train -- said they were unable to repressurize the brakes. They thought initially that the smoke was exhaust from the diesel engines and set about uncoupling and driving them the last quarter of the way out of the tunnel.
By the time the Fire Department was notified at 4:15 p.m., black smoke was rising through manhole covers on Howard Street and the situation was falling out of control. The Fire Department sounded five alarms in assembling 125 firefighters and equipment.
As firefighters aimed water cannons from each end toward a blaze they could not see in the smoky blackness, activities above ground slowly came to a standstill.
Drivers were trapped for hours on gridlocked streets, and people waited at curbs for buses halted on their rounds. The Metro subway was closed for an hour until inspectors were sure there was no smoke in the tubes, and light rail service was severed near its midpoint.
The second game of a day-night Orioles double-header was canceled, downtown stores closed, and the University of Baltimore's evening classes halted. The Coast Guard closed the Inner Harbor to boat traffic at 5 p.m.
The water main break about 6 p.m. knocked out electrical power to nearly 1,200 residences and businesses, reduced or cut off water pressure as far south as Port Covington and left part of Lombard Street under 2 feet of water.
Firefighters tried to reach the train from the southern end of the tunnel early but were forced back by what they thought were chemicals that made their skin burn.
About a half-dozen firefighters wearing standard turnout gear went in with hoses, trying to reach the train about three-quarters of a mile away through smoke and intense heat, said Fire Department Lt. Jim Boyer.
"They got within 300 yards of the derailment, but they felt the skin on their necks burning," he said, speculating that chemicals had reacted with perspiration. "You can't fight a fire from 300 yards.
"Any chemical situation, plus in an enclosed space like a tunnel, that's terrifying," said Boyer, a Baltimore firefighter for three decades. "I haven't seen anything like this since I did damage control in the Navy 30 years ago."
At least 22 people, including two firefighters with chest pains, were treated at area hospitals, most for respiratory or eye irritation, officials reported.
Many of the freight cars were carrying wood pulp and other combustibles, but nine were carrying chemicals from North Carolina to New Jersey, including five tank cars full of acids.
Two were full of fluorosilicic acid, two of hydrochloric acid, and one of glacial acetic acid. Other substances on the train's manifest were ethylhexyl phthalate, propylene and tripropylene glycol.
Among the most dangerous was the fluorosalicic acid, a chemical that, diluted, protects children's teeth from cavities. In its concentrated form, it can cause severe burns to skin, lungs, nose and throat, with the effects often taking hours to appear.
Most of the other chemicals on the train were common ingredients used in manufacturing. Typical of these modern multipurpose chemicals is propylene glycol, a compound used to de-ice airplanes and plumbing pipes, and also used as a solvent in food ingredients.
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