South Portland firefighters were able to contain a chemical leak from a rail car early Wednesday without evacuations or injuries, according to fire officials.
The chlorine leak at Rigby Yard was reported to the fire department at 1:17 a.m.
“It sounded like some workers there were prepping a train and smelled an odor, so they called the fire department,” said Robb Couture, a spokesman for the department.
Couture said the department’s hazmat team found the smell was caused by chlorine gas leaking from a valve on top of a train car. The car was empty, but there was residual gas, Couture said.
Members of the hazmat team were able to stop the leak by tightening the valve. The gas did not spread beyond the area immediately around the train car.
“I think the weather helped because it was cold and there was no wind,” Couture said.
No one was injured and no evacuations were needed.
Couture said federal rail authorities were at Rigby Yard Wednesday morning but would not tell local officials where the train car had come from or where it was headed.
The 25 to 30 South Portland firefighters who responded to the leak cleared the scene by 7:30 a.m.
“The guys did a really good job and controlled it in a short time,” Couture said.
All firefighters in South Portland are trained to handle hazmat situations. The department is a state regional response team, which means it can respond to hazmat situations anywhere in Maine. Couture said the department rarely has to respond to hazmat situations in South Portland.
“We used a lot of gear today that we don’t use a lot,” he said.
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