News in Review September 2013 Teacher Resource Guide RAIL DISASTER: Devastation in Lac Mégantic

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1 News in Review September 2013 Teacher Resource Guide RAIL DISASTER: Devastation in Lac Mégantic MINDS ON Authorities in Canada and the United States have been squaring off with environmentalists for years over the issue of how best to move crude oil and gas to markets and refineries. Major pipelines are effective but they have a history of failure. Environmentalists point out that just about every pipeline leaks at least once or twice a year dumping thousands of litres of toxic material into the environment. Another option is to transport petroleum products by rail. Between 2009 and 2013, crude oil transported by train climbed from 500 carloads to carloads a per cent increase over four years. (Maclean s, July 22, 2013) At the same time, our aging railroad infrastructure means an increase in the risk of derailments. These accidents could potentially lead to serious environmental damage. What s your take? Are we better off shipping petroleum products to market by pipeline or by train? Are there viable alternatives to pipeline or rail? SETTING THE STAGE And out of the darkness came a ghost train that descended upon the sleepy town as the last few citizens prepared to say goodnight to another summer evening. No conductor, no passengers. And upon its devastating arrival, the ghost train lay waste to everything in its path. Ghost train If this sounds like the stuff of fantasy, think again. On July 6, 2013, an unmanned train that witnesses really would later refer to as the ghost train drifted from where it was parked for the night in Nantes and descended toward the neighbouring town of Lac-Mégantic, some 11 kilometres away. It didn t take long for the train to gain momentum and, by the time it derailed in downtown Lac-Mégantic, the freight train carrying 72 cars of crude oil was traveling over 100 kilometres an hour. Almost immediately after leaving the tracks colliding fuel tanks began exploding, laying waste to almost half of the downtown area and destroying over 30 buildings. Forty-seven people died as a result of the initial blast and the explosive inferno that followed. Disturbing revelations Investigators were quick to uncover some disturbing revelations regarding the circumstances surrounding the tragedy. Earlier that night, the Nantes fire department responded to a 911 call reporting thick smoke and sparks coming from the lead locomotive of the train in question. The fire was extinguished and the News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 12

2 locomotive s engines were shut down. Employees of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) rail company arrived on the scene, thanked the fire fighters for their efforts and declared the train to be safe and sound. Within an hour the train began its harrowing journey toward Lac-Mégantic. It derailed after hitting a bend in the tracks across the street from a popular local night club called the Musi-Café. Over 20 people perished in the bar. The remaining victims were either engulfed in flames while fleeing the firestorm or burned alive while sleeping in their beds. More revelations It soon became clear that not only was there a fire on the train, but also the train had been left running to keep the air brakes of the locomotive secured. The engineer had parked the train on the main line in Nantes (because a side track was occupied) and secured additional hand brakes on a number of cars to back up the air brakes. Then he took a taxi to a hotel in Lac-Mégantic for the night. The taxi driver who picked him up pointed out that the locomotive that was left running was spitting smoke. The engineer told him that it was okay to leave the train that way. Apparently leaving a locomotive running, parking on a main line, leaving the train unlocked and unmanned were all in accordance with company policy and did not violate Canadian railway regulations a position that would be challenged, clarified and corrected by Canadian rail authorities in the weeks following the tragedy. An accident waiting to happen Hindsight would soon make it clear that multiple factors contributed to a colossal tragedy that night in Lac-Mégantic: parking a train on the main line, inadequate safeguards in the train s braking system, and the volatility of the crude oil being transported in the nearly obsolete train cars. Many would say the shoddy practices of MMA created a situation where an accident was waiting to happen. While thousands of litres of crude oil burned in the explosions, even more spilled onto the ground, flowing into the town s sewer system and out into the harbour. Authorities estimate that 7.2 million litres of crude oil spilled onto the ground and into the waterways around Lac- Mégantic. The clean up will take years to complete and will likely cost over $200 million to complete. Many wonder if downtown Lac- Mégantic will ever be safe to inhabit again. To consider 1. Why did people refer to the train that brought devastation to Lac-Mégantic as the ghost train? 2. Describe some of the disturbing revelations surrounding the tragedy. 3. Why was the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic described as an accident waiting to happen? News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 13

3 VIDEO REVIEW Pre viewing Did you know that some Canadian railway companies are in the habit of leaving trains unlocked and unattended on main lines across the country? What do you think of this practice? What are the risks of leaving these important pieces of machinery left unlocked and unattended? Should railway companies at least make sure that trains carrying dangerous material are parked in a rail yard? While viewing 1. What happened on July 6, 2013 to change the fortunes of the town of Lac-Mégantic? 2. What was the cause of the explosion? 3. How many buildings did the explosion destroy? 4. What concerns did authorities have in the aftermath of the explosion? 5. How many of the dead were the authorities able to identify early on? How many were missing? How did they plan on identifying the dead? 6. What happened on the train earlier the same evening that may have contributed to the disaster? 7. a) Why was Nantes Fire Chief Patrick Lambert so defensive when reporters asked him if his crew may have contributed to the disaster? News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 14

4 b) Do you think it was fair of Edward Burkhardt, the president of Rail World, to blame the fire crew in Nantes? c) Five days after the explosion, who did Burkhardt blame for the disaster? d) According to Burkhardt, what important piece of equipment was not applied properly? e) How did the people of Lac-Mégantic react to Burkhardt s comments? 8. How did the people of Lac-Mégantic rally to share their grief and say goodbye to those who died? 9. Which Lac-Mégantic gathering place re-opened on August 2nd? Why was the opening of this establishment so important even symbolically important for the people of the town? 10. What two developments in August demonstrated that the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic railroad was a company in deep trouble? Post viewing When disaster struck in Lac-Mégantic local hospitals prepared for a rush of casualties. Very few came. What does this say about the devastating impact of the derailment and explosion? News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 15

5 EDWARD BURKHARDT S PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER Minds on If you were the CEO of a company that was directly implicated in an accident that killed people, how would you respond? Do you think it would be important to get to the scene of the accident right away even though the authorities would keep you at arms length? Would you want to interview your employees at the scene or would a telephone interview do the job? When you met with the news media, how would you respond to questions that seemed to attack you and your company personally? In preparation for the article you are about to read, list your answers to these questions in point form. Sweet Home Chicago When word of the Lac-Mégantic train disaster reached Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) CEO Edward Burkhardt, he began gathering information to attempt to determine what happened. Working from his Chicago office, Burkhardt tried to come up with answers to the main question surrounding the tragedy: how did an unmanned MMA train carrying 72 cars of crude oil manage to travel 11 kilometres from Nantes to Lac Mégantic and kill 47 people? When news outlets initially contacted Burkhardt, he claimed that someone must have tampered with the brakes. Train experts were quick to point out that, if the brakes were tampered with, it had to have been a person with expertise on train braking systems. Later, after he learned that the Nantes fire department extinguished a fire on one of the train s locomotives, he blamed the firemen for turning off the locomotive engines that were running the air brakes. An infuriated Nantes Fire Chief Patrick Lambert said his crew put out the fire and shut down the locomotive as per procedures agreed to by MMA. He also left the train in the hands of two MMA employees. Burkhardt quickly backed away from his initial comments. However, he wasn t so quick to get himself to the scene of the catastrophe. Almost five days later The train derailment and explosion occurred just after 1 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, July 6. Burkhardt didn t arrive in Lac-Mégantic until Wednesday afternoon almost five days after the tragedy. By this time, the news media set their sights on him as the bad guy. After all, instead of providing a clear and authentic apology to the people of Lac-Mégantic, he insisted on finger pointing from his Chicago office. His rationale for staying in the Windy City: he could get more done from his command centre in Chicago then on a cell phone in Lac- Mégantic. Whether this was true or not became irrelevant. Staying in Chicago made Burkhardt look like he cared more about his company s profitability than his company s culpability in the deaths of 47 souls in Lac-Mégantic. From bad to worse Burkhardt only made things worse once he arrived in Lac-Mégantic. At an impromptu news conference amidst a scrum of reporters and angry townsfolk, Burkhardt spent a great deal of time pointing out how much the tragedy hurt him including his net worth! He also announced that the train s engineer, Tom Harding, was suspended without pay for not setting the train s brakes properly. Harding, an experienced and well-respected engineer, may well have done something wrong. However, News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 16

6 Burkhardt s comments just made it seem like he was throwing Harding to the wolves. Burkardt: The villain Now the Lac-Mégantic disaster had a villain that the public and news media could target. When town officials announced that MMA would need to pay for the damage done by the derailment and explosion, Burkhardt put his company into bankruptcy protection in both Canada and the United States. He told the municipal government in Lac-Mégantic and the province of Quebec that they would have to foot the bill until an insurance company determines whether or not to honour the company s $25 million policy. Meanwhile, authorities estimate the clean up will take years to complete and will cost over $200 million. Burkhardt: No legend By many accounts, Edward Burkhardt is a good man and a legend in the railway industry (Bloomberg, July 12, 2013). However, his handling of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy has made him public enemy number one in Canada. While he repeatedly claimed some responsibility for the derailment, many feel he should have simply expressed his remorse and put all the resources of his company to work to help the town of Lac- Mégantic. Instead, he spoke too much and did too little. In Canada, Edward Burkhardt is no legend. Source: 1. Quebec train crash taints railroad CEO s Legend Status by Tim Catts. Bloomberg, July 12, Burkhardt s PR disaster by Bernard Gauthier. Ottawa Citizen, July 11, Lac-Mégantic explosion: MMA railway boss Ed Burkhardt says engineer suspended by Jessica McDiarmid and Jacques Gallant. The Toronto Star, July 10, To consider 1. a) Who did Edward Burkhardt blame for the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic? b) Why did he back away from these allegations? 2. Why did Burkhardt wait almost five days before heading to Lac-Mégantic? 3. Who did Burkhardt eventually point the finger at for the tragedy? Why did people feel that he was simply throwing this person to the wolves? 4. Why did many Canadians consider Burkhardt public enemy number one? News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 17

7 THE THIN LINE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH Minds on Often people who escape death in a traumatic or tragic event while others around them do not suffer from a mental condition called survivor s guilt. Why do you think this is the case? Why would someone who simply manages to live through a traumatic event feel guilty that they lived? One lives while another dies It was a normal July night at the Musi-Café in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. Patrons gathered to unwind, celebrate and listen to some music. Suddenly at 1:14 a.m., the thin line between normalcy and terror indeed, between life and death revealed itself as a runaway train carrying crude oil that derailed and exploded outside the bar. Here are a few of the tragic stories from the Musi-Café that night. Guy Ouellet and Diane Bizier were enjoying a night away from home at the bar. The couple worked together at a local door manufacturer. Ouellet felt tired and told Bizier he would see her back at their house. Bizier never made it home. Josée Lafontaine was celebrating her 40th birthday at the Musi-Café that night. After a night of fun with her closest friends and family, Josée went home for the night. Several of her party stayed behind. Her brother Gaétan and his wife Joanie Turmel, her sister Karine and friend Marie-Noelle Faucher died that night. Musicians Guy Bulduc and Yves Ricard were performing at the Musi-Café on that July night. The duo were between sets. Ricard stepped outside for a cigarette while Bulduc stayed inside. Ricard survived and Bulduc died. Musi-Café owner Yannick Gagné left work about 30 minutes before the train crashed across the street from his establishment. He wanted to get home to relieve the young lady who was babysitting his young children. The babysitter s mother died in the explosion as did three of Gagné s employees. Gagne later re-opened the Musi-Café in a tent on the outskirts of town. The new Musi-Café has become a place of mourning and healing for the people of Lac-Mégantic. Gagne says, I remember where everybody was sitting, everybody who died that night. (Toronto Star, September 7, 2013) Activity Write a letter to Guy Ouellet, Josée Lafontaine, Yves Ricard or Yannick Gagné. Try to provide as much compassion, comfort and empathy as possible to the person you selected. Really pour your heart out and let them know that they are not alone, that people even strangers like yourself care about them, and that you hope they will one day be able to bear the burden of having lost people they loved. Try to address the idea of survivor s guilt somewhere in your letter. Length of letter: 500 words News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 18