Flames Over Wapske
Jamie Sutherland
On January 7 the tiny community of Wapske became ground zero for a terrifying conflagration as 16 cars of a CN Rail freight train derailed, 8 of which were loaded with crude oil and propane that exploded and caught on fire.
Thankfully, there were no injuries but the community was traumatized and forced to evacuate for several days. Here is a first-hand report of the events as she and her family experienced them from Wapske resident Jamie Sutherland:
On Tuesday, January 7th around 7pm, my Mom called to tell me about loud bangs she was hearing and flames that she could see coming from the Longley Rd. There is a loading site there where Jeff Deleavey loads rail cars with lumber with his loader. She assumed the lumber was on fire and thought the loader had blown up.
After getting off the phone with my Mom I got a text from my brother saying that a train had derailed and tank cars were exploding. He could see the fire from his apartment in Sisson Ridge. It didn’t take long for word to spread and for people to start leaving their homes. Immediate panic set in as we scrambled through our house rounding up things that were important to us and things we thought we might need, like a few family pictures and essentials such as clothing.
It is very hard to pick and choose through your belongings and explain to your small children that the special toys they have are not what is important right now. We had no idea how serious the accident was. We just knew that tank cars were on fire and we could hear explosions.
Soon after the derailment happened almost everyone had been told to leave Wapske, although a few decided that was not necessary and they stayed despite the evacuation order. Leaving our homes with very short notice was not easy, but the potential dangers that could take place was not a risk I was willing to take with my 5 and 2 year old children. Our 5 year old daughter was very upset. She knew something was wrong and was worried about our safety and our house.
After we got evacuated we spent our first night away from home at my brothers apartment in Sisson Ridge. My mother and stepfather along with our family of four all stood in the window of my brothers apartment and watched the flames and explosions from a distance. Sisson Ridge is a few kilometers above Wapske, so we had a good view of the horrible sight of our little community potentially in danger. We watched as explosion after explosion happened and we had no idea as we watched what was on fire and whose homes were in danger. We didn’t sleep much at all that night. It was hard to take our eyes off of the fire and hard to stop listening to the news for updates.
When morning came – a very few short hours after laying our heads down, we had a lot to think about. I had to prepare to go to work. I drive a school bus which was still parked in Wapske so I had to get a spare bus from the DOT in order to do my morning run. After returning home from work that morning we learned that the evacuees would be able to stay at the Pres Du Lac in Grand Falls. The Pres Du Lac is about 45-50kms away from our home in Wapske.
We first went to Wapske to see if we could get to our house to gather more things and check on our heat before we headed to Grand Falls to stay at the hotel. A lot of people in Wapske use wood to heat their homes and we were concerned about our pipes freezing if we were not able to tend to our fires regularly. Fortunately, we are all allowed into our homes between the hours of 7-9am and 8-10pm to check on things. A police escort takes each person to their home and gives them 10 minutes to do what needs to be done and get back out again.
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It would be nice to be able to stick around for a few minutes and take pictures. It sure doesn’t look like home right now. It feels like a deserted town, but it’s full of strange vehicles, machines of all sorts, big lights, small cabins for workers and the house that has sat empty on the corner of the Longley Rd and Route 390 is now being used as an office or base of some sort for the workers there.
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The residents of Wapske attended a private meeting Thursday afternoon at the Lions Center in Plaster Rock. A lot of us had high hopes about officials giving us an estimated time as to when we could return home. The meeting was a little disappointing as far as that went. They were not able to tell us anything about when we would be able to home. But, it was a huge relief to learn that the Red Cross is ready and willing to step up to the plate as far as compensation goes for anyone who has expenses incurred due to the derailment.
Our anxiety about our pipes freezing has now been relieved since we were able to borrow a couple infrared heaters to plug in, but we are now worried about the potential contaminants in our water supply and the air quality outside and inside our home. As of right now we are advised not to drink our water once we are able to return home. Apparently it is ok to bathe and wash clothes in, but as far as I’m concerned if it’s not safe to drink I don’t plan on putting it on my children’s skin or have my clothes washed in contaminated water. What is considered “safe” is still not necessarily good for you.
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One of the houses out the “Y” road (The Longley Rd, but it has always been referred to as the “Y” by all the locals for years and years) directly across from the derailment site has an artesian well, which is now covered in some sort of oil or fuel. Whenever there was a power outage for an extended time in our area we would take advantage of this artesian well and use it as a source for our drinking water instead of buying bottled water. But it looks as though we will be forced to buy bottled water for a little while unless we can find someone with good well water that doesn’t mind sharing.
Another concern we have is for the air quality. Not only as a result of the train derailment but also from all the diesel trucks and machinery that have been sitting idle for days in our community. There are at least 15 trucks and machines in one small area that are running steady. Some of them are parked in people’s driveways with the exhaust pointing directly at the house.
This may not be a major concern for most people, and it may not have any effects on people’s health as the exhaust fumes make their way into homes, but it very well could. The fact that there have been multiple machines sitting idle for days in my mother’s driveway is a HUGE health concern for her. She has been diagnosed with an environmental illness referred to as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MSC). She is not able to be around anything chemical without getting very ill and having a severe asthma attack. When her husband Marcel last visited their home to check on things the smell of diesel inside the house was very strong to his senses. My mother’s sensitivity to this would be much worse. She is very worried and scared that she may not be able to return to her home even after it has been considered safe for everyone else to return. There’s a good possibility that a lot of the contents inside her home will have absorbed the smell of diesel exhaust. Even the smallest trace of exhaust will have a major impact on her health and is extremely dangerous for her to be exposed to. Thankfully, after speaking with Stacey Kelley, who was very aware of her condition and the effects the small trace amounts of toxins can have on her, she assured Mom that everything possible will be done to make sure she is able to return to her home safely.
This situation is a major inconvenience for all of the residents of Wapske, but there is a much more significant fear for my Mom because of her health. Her home is her “safe” place. Her bubble has been popped. Her home was her way to recuperate and avoid any exposures to chemicals and toxins and now she is like a sitting duck in a pond. Her home was her place to get away from anyone and anything that can make her sick and now that has been extremely compromised.
Since arriving at the hotel she has been sick just from the chemicals included in the cleaners they use and from encountering other people at the hotel and restaurant that use scented personal products and laundry soap. She had to air her room out before she could stay in it and she has to clean her own room with her own chemical free products because she cannot let the cleaning staff into her room.
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Our family of four and 8 other families are at the Pres Du Lac in Grand Falls for the time being, patiently awaiting word on when we can return home. There have been designated information sessions arranged at certain times each day to keep us updated on the situation with our homes and the derailment in Wapske. These meetings are in Plaster Rock and the ones calling Grand Falls “home” right now are not always able to attend, but we do have a phone number to call for updates.
All of us are anxious to get home. A lot of the residents in Wapske have animals and were not able to bring them to the hotel so they are in shelters for the time being. I have heard these people say their dogs are suffering from separation anxiety and are not eating. Their dogs are very important to them, so the dogs along with the owners are heartbroken over having to leave them behind.
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Our two children feel a little displaced right now. Our five year old, Hailey, is old enough to understand what is going on and feel the anxiety of being made to leave our home abruptly. She becomes very concerned when hearing news updates and people around us talk about the derailment.
Hailey is home-schooled so thankfully her education is not being disrupted, but there is a family at the hotel who have two children that go to Tobique Valley. They are missing classes and important material for upcoming exams. The family is supposed to be compensated in some way for their children’s education.
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Each family who had to leave their home are facing different challenges as a result of this disaster. But we all have one thing in common I would say, and that is that we are all very grateful that no one was hurt, our homes have not burnt and we have a lot of help in our area to make sure things are under control. Hopefully any of the problems that have occurred due to the derailment are easily resolved and everyone can get back to “normalcy” soon.
