VIDEO: Railroad tankers carrying flammable ethanol and oil rumble across railroad tracks throughout Illinois. They frequently move through populated areas passing schools, churches and downtown areas of villages, towns and cities.
On a recent sunny morning, with temperatures hovering around 5 degrees, firefighters gathered at the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) in Champaign to practice fighting tanker fires. Although derailments are statistically rare, fire departments want to be prepared in case a tanker were to catch fire requiring immediate action.
Fighting rail tanker fires goes far beyond the process of fighting house, building or structure fires. Mark Clapp, an IFSI instructor and Urbana Fire Department Lieutenant, says fighting tanker fires is almost a science.
“There’s actually some physics and technique in everything that needs to go with this,” Clapp said of training instructions.