Evacuation Ends For Some After Train Derailment Sparks Fire In Oshawa

“I was right there watching the train go by and then, ‘boom!’ I said ‘what was that?'”

Neither Al Lamb nor any of his neighbours could have dreamed the answer to that question would force many of them out of their homes.

It came from a huge train derailment that hit his Oshawa neighbourhood around 2:15pm Friday, a massive accident that left two locomotives and some of the 27 cars they were fronting off the rails.

It happened at Park Rd. and the 401, not far from the Oshawa Mall, in a heavily populated area. The effects were immediate and ongoing. Police began evacuating residents and area businesses within about one kilometre of the scene. Several nearby schools were also cleared out as a precaution.

Reports of thick black smoke brought hazmat teams, but only one of the cars caught fire. Crews poured water on several trains to douse any potential hot spots and the flames were successfully doused.

Photo: Phil Pang, CityNews

CP Rail confirms there was hydrogen peroxide on board at least one of the cars. It does not represent an immediate threat but experts are keeping an eye on it just in case. “They’re concerned if it burns … That particular car is leaning about 15 per cent,” relates Mayor John Gray.

There are also some indications there may have been some fuel spilled but that fortunately did not translate into a fire.

It was a frightening time for those who were forced out, and despite conflicting reports that some had been allowed to return it was expected many would be kept away from their homes and businesses until sometime Saturday. Crews did establish a containment perimeter for the car in question, though it wasn’t immediately clear when the mess would be cleaned in full.

Visuals from the scene show a huge chain of cars, some off the track, some on, covering a very large area like a giant broken accordion. The train was passing under a bridge at the time of the accident and it’s feared the span may have suffered some serious damage.

Residents were stunned by the speed with which it happened. “I go running down and it was just piled one on top of the other,” recalls Lamb. “The noise was just – you couldn’t believe it!

“I’ve been here since 1964 and there’s never been an accident.”

Others recall the same loud bang. “I was sitting there and we hear, boom, boom! And joking around and ‘my God — it’s a bomb!” recalls Sid Sebbahom. “And then afterwards we heard the paramedics coming and everything.”

Some didn’t hear the derailment but were shocked when they found out. “Complete utter panic,” one mom recalls. “It happened right behind where our kids go to school!” She says the smell from the dislodged cars was terrible and she knew they had to get out of there quickly.

It’s not clear what led to the accident but while traffic in the area was a mess during rush hour and drivers were being diverted, it didn’t have any impact on GO trains or the nearby highway and no one was hurt.

Photos by CityNews viewer Ryan Bruneau