Valve Malfunction Causes Leak At Green Tree Rail Yard

GREENTREE (KDKA) -- There were concerns in a Green Tree neighborhood Thursday morning when a train began leaking a fuel mixture in a rail yard.

Neighbors who could smell the chemicals say they are upset that they were not evacuated.

"I wake up, I look out the front window, I see the Green Tree Fire Department right up the road here; and they're telling people not to come down this way," said Jim Vincenti, a resident of Green Tree.

It was a very rude awaking for homeowners on Kenmore Drive as they found themselves in the middle of a Hazmat situation.

"We had a minor leak in a rail car operating on the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad," said David Montz, the Green Tree Emergency Management coordinator. "It carries a propane-butane mix, petroleum mix from Marcellus Shale operations."

A massive tanker car had a valve malfunction allowing the highly flammable gas to escape.

The entire neighborhood, where at times it smelled like gas, was cut off as firefighters and Hazmat teams tried to fix the leak.

"The leak from the valve area has been stopped and no issues remain with the car," said Alvin Henderson, of Allegheny County EMS.

By 8 a.m., it was all clear but that did little to relieve worry.

"We had an incident approximately one year ago similar to this where there was a release of product in similar fashion," Assistant Chief Matt Serakowski, of the Green Tree Fire Department, said.

This isn't the first time firefighters have visited the neighborhood. The rail yard's been busy and loaded with toxic or explosive tankers.

"There's always an anxiety with the trains, especially now with the fracking going on," said one Green Tree resident. "It's getting closer and closer to home. All of our lives are at stake here. It's frightening."

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