Nobody was injured during Monday night's spectacular blaze at the Port Coquitlam CP Railyard and an investigation is underway to determine the cause.
Fire broke out at approximately 6:40 p.m. when a tanker truck carrying ethanol collided with a rail car and burst into flames, sending flames and plumes of smoke into the air that could be seen for kilometres.
The incident forced the evacuation of all residents and businesses within an 800-metre radius and shut down Lougheed Highway between Shaughnessy Street and Coast Meridian Road.
Tuesday morning, Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore told The Tri-City News that he has received assurances from CP Rail and Transport Canada the fire will be fully investigated.
"We want to learn how this occurred and what can be done in the future to prevent it," he said.
While Moore praised the response of emergency officials, he said any time there is a major incident, there are things the city can learn and improve upon.
One area he said he would be asking about is the fact CP Rail's foam suppression vehicle is located in Abbotsford. The unit was sent to the blaze Monday night under police escort but Moore said it may be necessary to have the equipment located closer to Port Coquitlam given that PoCo's CP Rail yard is one of the largest in western Canada.
"That is something we need to review," he said.
But communication between the fire department and CP Rail has greatly improved over the last two years, which showed Monday night, said Moore. He noted the use of a new app that allows firefighters to determine in real time what a train is carrying based on the rail car's reporting mark.
"There was good communication between CP and the fire department," he said. "Everyone played their role… Because of our preparedness, I think people could observe that things happened really seamlessly."
Port Coquitlam Fire Chief Nick Delmonico told reporters Monday night that due to the nature of the fire, it was difficult for crews to battle the blaze. He said that firefighters had to make sure that the area was secure and intended to let the fire burn out, which eventually occurred at around 3 a.m.
“We don’t know the limit of the fuel in the car at this point,” he said during a hastily arranged news conference in front of the Shaughnessy Station Safeway store at around 9 p.m. Monday. “We also have diesel tanks on the train that are a concern for us as well. We did have a number of other trains in the yard that were loaded with other chemicals that were rather dangerous.”
Amber Gregory was working out at Golds gym when she first noticed the blaze.
She said emergency crews moved into the area quickly to evacuate but it took 45 minutes to get out of the Safeway parking lot because many vehicles were blocked in.
"I would describe it as surreal," she said in a message to The Tri-City News, later adding: "[It] was very scary not being able to leave… when you are hearing a microphone to evacuate."
CP Rail issued a statement to The Tri-City News on Tuesday confirming that there were no injuries in the blaze and stating that no further details would be released until the incident has been investigated.
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
@gmckennaTC
