CSX Transportation has paid over $431,000 to local agencies since a train carrying hazardous material derailed and caught fire in eastern Tennessee earlier this year.
Officials with the Blount County mayor’s office, the Blount County Fire Protection District and the cities of Maryville and Alcoa all said they have received payments from the railroad company, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported.
The reimbursements cover pay for police officers, firefighters and other government employees who responded to the July 1 evacuation and cleanup, which lasted two days.
The amount also covers the costs of equipment, of opening schools to use as shelters and command centers, and of housing residents’ pets at the county’s animal shelter.
“There was a lot of time, a lot of manpower … involved in that (response),” Blount County Fire Chief Doug McClanahan said.
About 5,000 people were evacuated after the derailment of the train car, which was carrying acrylonitrile, a hazardous material used in multiple industrial processes, including making plastics. It’s hazardous if inhaled.
The resulting fire from the derailment burned for 19 hours.
The city of Maryville was reimbursed $175,533, while Blount County received a $125,385 check for its costs.
The fire district, which operates as a utility and is not under the county government, received a $79,000 check from CSX, McClanahan said.
CSX has also paid more than $3.5 million to residents and others immediately affected by the fire.
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