By Peter Nickeas, David Elsner and Andrew L. Wang

Tribune reporters

Worried that burning tanks of ethanol will split open and explode, crews are changing their tactics and are now pouring water and foam on a derailed freight train at the edge of a small town in north central Illinois.

Firefighters initially had been allowing the fire to burn itself out since the train derailed around 2 a.m. at Tiskilwa, about 115 miles west ofChicago. Although the fire has been under control since about 9:30 a.m., officials say the flames have not been extinquished yet. There have been no reports of injuries.

"There's a fear the tankers are heating up and will split open," said Les Grant, a spokeman for the emergency crews on the scene.

Grant said crews are using water to cool the tankers and foam to extinguish the fire. In the meantime, the 800 residents of the town are being asked to stay away.

"We are asking people not to return to Tiskilwa," Grant said.


Bureau County sheriff’s police had gone door-to-door early this morning to advise people to leave. Most residents went to stay with friends or relatives out of town, went to work or gathered about six miles away at Princeton High School, which was being used as a shelter.

Some took refuge at Indian Valley Inn, a restaurant and bar on Main Street.

"It's a mess," said Mike McComber, owner of the inn. "A quarter- to a half-mile of cars derailed. Many of them are on fire.

"Every time one of them explodes, it sounds like a bomb is going off. Three have gone off so far," he said this morning, shortly after the derailment happened.

Laura Henry said she heard a strange clacking noise followed by an unnerving boom that shook her and her husband from bed at their home about a mile from the derailment. They'd been sleeping with the window open and Henry was lying awake when she heard the train coming.

"It was like something very heavy dropped," Henry said. "You definitely felt the ground shake when you heard the boom," she said.

Fearing a derailment, the couple decided to see if they could help and called 911 as they ran to the tracks, Henry said. At the edge of town, they saw tanker cars ablaze.

"It was just amazing. I've never seen a fire like that before," Henry said. "When it would ignite or the pressure would relieve from one of the cars it would shoot, probably 100 or 200 feet in the air, these huge flames."

Archer Daniels Midland spokeswoman Jessie McKinney said the train included ADM railcars carrying ethanol and a type of dry animal feed. "We are cooperating with authorities investigating the incident," McKinney said in an email. "This incident is not impacting ADM’s ability to deliver product to our customers, and we continue to fulfill all customers’ orders."

McKinney said that the company didn't have confirmation from the rail company on whether the affected cars were the ones carrying ADM's freight.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was dispatching a six-person team to investigate the accident.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency also sent a representative to the scene to make sure waterways and the environment are protected, said spokeswoman Maggie Carson.

What's known about the derailment so far suggests fumes will burn off and there won't be long-term effects for residents, Carson said. If other chemicals are involved the EPA will reevaluate the situation, she said.

Mick Burkhart, the railroad spokesman, said the train originated in Rock Island and was scheduled to arrive in Chicago this morning, though he did not know if Chicago was the ethanol's final destination.

Hazardous materials teams from Ottawa, Utica, Marseilles, Peru, Mendota, Oglesby and Naplate were dispatched to the fire, Haywood said.

Associated Press contributed.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com