Coal Train Derails, Sparks Grass Fire

Two engines and two cars from a coal train derailed in downtown Muldoon Saturday afternoon.

There were no injuries, but every crossing in the Muldoon area was either damaged or blocked by the train.

That created a problem for the Muldoon firefighters, who had to walk across the tracks just to get to their firetrucks and then take some backroads to get to a fire sparked by the derailment, said fire Chief Stephen Kelly.

That fire burned about five acres before it was put out.

“Accessing the fire was a problem,” Kelly said.

A small army of first responders helped with various aspects of the response.

“Success in this incident was due to a great working relationship with other county agencies,” Kelly said.

The Muldoon Volunteer Fire Department responded with 11 firefighters and five trucks. Flatonia brought five trucks and eight firefighters. La Grange responded with two trucks and four firefighters. Kelly also praised the quick and helpful response of Union Pacific personnel.

Also on scene assisting were the Sheriff’s Department, DPS, EMS and Texas Department of Transportation Emergency Management.

Kelly said damage to the tracks was evident at least a mile prior to the derailment site. That could indicate some problem with the train that worsened, finally culminating with the derailment.

Several of the crossings in Muldoon were re-opened but the Kerr St. crossing sustained significant damage and he was unsure when that might be passable.

The initial call of the derailment came in at 2:47 p.m. Saturday with some first responders not leaving until 7:45 p.m.