Submitted Photo Fire and smoke spills from the wreckage of a Canadian Pacific Kansas City train after a derailment near Bordulac, about 10 miles southeast of Carrington Friday morning. Photo submitted by Foster County Emergency Management.

BORDULAC – Fire crews in Foster County responded to the scene of a fire caused by a train derailment near Bordulac, about 10 miles southeast of Carrington, early Friday morning.

Twenty-nine cars being transported by the Canadian Pacific Kansas City train derailed in the incident. Andrew Kirking, Foster County emergency manager, estimated about half of the derailed cars had caught fire.

Patrick Waldron, assistant vice president of communications and media relations for CPKC, said the derailment occurred around 3:30 a.m. He confirmed the train was transporting hazardous materials. The hazardous materials in the cars were identified as anhydrous ammonia, sulfur and methanol, according to Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager for the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality.

Kirking said Carrington Fire and Rescue was the first to respond to the scene and set up a perimeter as “it was beyond our control.” Additional technical assistance was provided by Jamestown Regional Hazmat. Kirking said CPKC was aware of the disruption and mobilized quickly to respond.

“They mobilized and they had boots on the ground by 8 or 9 o’clock. Right now, it is a small city out here between them and their contractors. What an amazing response by CP,” Kirking said.

Waldron said senior officers from CPKC’s operations and hazardous materials teams were on scene assessing the situation, saying, “The safety of the public and emergency responders is CPKC’s first priority.”

Kirking said fires were still burning at the site of the derailment at noon on Friday, and technicians were in the field monitoring air quality. Anhydrous ammonia leaks can cause severe irritation of the eyes, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract and skin as the chemical reacts with the mucous membranes of the human body, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We’re happy to say everything is flowing away in the right direction and will have no impact on human life,” Kirking said.