Las Vegas - August 29, 2007: on that morning a tanker car belonging to Union Pacific railroad escaped from the Arden train yard and embarked on a 20 mile journey through the Las Vegas Valley.

The tanker car was filled with chlorine.

As the chlorine filled tanker car went along it's merry way, it traveled along state Route 160 and the always bustling Las Vegas Strip. The tanker car also sped past several concerned witnesses who notified 9-1-1.

The 9-1-1 operators who recieved the calls seemed mystified and perplexed by the situation as is evident by this exchange between an emergency dispatcher and a caller

Caller: I've got a runaway train car going north.

Dispatcher: "What is it running away on?"

Caller: "On the train tracks. There's no, uh, head on the train."

A hapless sounding Union Pacific (UP) official would later call dispatchers and admit that they lost control of one of the train car and were attempting to catch it.

The tanker car reached speeds as high as 40 mph.

The tanker car eventually slowed down and came to a stop only after it lost momentum when it rolled up a hill.

UP police and employees which attempted to chase down and halt the runaway train car were critized by local government officials for not notify Las Vegas Metro fire and police until nearly the very end of the incident.

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The Runaway Train.

It's one of the top nightmares and the most daunting and complex challenge for any Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT).

A runaway train or train car with hazardous materials is practically an invincible force. Once in motion, is virtually unstoppable and could trigger a significant crisis event if it's heading in the direction of a densely populated metropolitan area. multi thousand ton juggernant bearing down on a populated area, increasing in speed as it moves along. In such a situation hundreds, even thousands of lives could be at risk. For many HMRTs, this may be the ultimate challenge.

Actions to stop a runaway train are very limited and often not very attractive. One of a very limited number of options to protect the public from a hazardous materials loaded runaway train would be to derail it in a non-populated area. However, this may cause extensive and lasting damage to territory inhabited by wildlife. Even more, derailing a runaway train is not always a viable option.

I personally believe that HMRTs should train with railroad agencies (Union Pacific, Northern Suffolk, etc) on tactics on how to derail trains. Such training should also include the use of such equipment to derail trains(i.e., portable derailer, etc). Yes, it's an extreme tactic that HMRTs may never have to use but having an extra tool in the tool box can't hurt. You never know when such training may be needed and while incidents involving runaway train cars happen infrequently, they do occur more often than most people think.