Rail safety has been a big topic of discussion with the recent train derailments in Ohio and one as recently as last week in West Virginia.
Our region is no stranger to derailments, like the 17 rail cars that fell into the James River in Lynchburg back in 2014.
Next month will mark nine years since a CSX train derailed in Lynchburg, dumping thousands of gallons of fuel into the James River. Lynchburg’s Battalion Chief Daniel Williams was one of the first crews to arrive on the scene that day.
“When you turned the corner, everything was just black. And so the first thing we wanted to do was to make sure life safety wasn’t a situation. If it is then we want to evacuate as quickly as we can,” said Williams.
No one was hurt and no hazardous chemicals were released from that derailment.
Since then, Williams says the city has taken extra steps to prepare for future disasters.