Engines pulling more than 100 rail cars — sometimes filled with volatile and hazardous materials — pass through Whitefish and around Whitefish Lake every day.

Whitefish Fire Chief Joe Page admits that the risk of a potential train disaster continues with the number of trains moving through town, but he assures the city that his department continues to work with BNSF Railway on prevention and response tactics.

Page told City Council last week that the Whitefish Fire Department has identified five areas of concern in the event of a rail disaster.

“I’m concerned with the area east of town and Haskill Basin — that could impact the city’s water system,” Whitefish Fire Chief Joe Page told City Council. “In town, the concern is being close to homes and businesses. West of town is the lake and Highway 93 traffic, and further west is the remoteness of the area.”

“We’ve looked at each of these areas and each one has a different plan based on the challenges.”

The half-mile area around the emergency site would be the focus of concern, particularly if the train is carrying Bakken oil, said Page.

“Bakken oil is much more volatile,” he said. “You want to get people out of that area.”

If a railway tanker is burning, it could put toxic smoke in the air, the heat could cause other tankers to erupt, or burning oil could ignite other materials. A derailed tanker that is not burning could still cause oil to flow into the waterways or low lying areas.

The half-mile area from the Whitefish rail yard includes a circle perimeter with a northern border at Denver Street and a southern boundary at the Baker Avenue bridge. To the east, the perimeter intersects with East Edgewood Drive near the dog park, and to the west from Geddes Avenue to Montana Avenue near Soroptimist Park.

“It’s a large area to be concerned with,” Page said. “We could lose the viaduct and the railroad crossing. Plans need to include the schools, also.”

Falling outside the half-mile radius, the city’s Emergency Services Center would serve as the incident command post as the facility can be secured, has a generator and can connect directly to the county’s Emergency Operations Center in Kalispell.

Evacuation and rescues would be handled by the fire and police departments, with mutual aide response likely from other departments in the county.

If a hazardous incident were to happen, Page said, the fire department’s first priority would be life safety and evacuation. Evacuations would include door-to-door notification using public address systems and sending messages out on radio and TV.

Whitefish firefighters last fall attended a training provided by BNSF Railway focused on response to railroad incidents involving crude oil. Firefighters trained at the Security and Emergency Response Training Center in Pueblo, Colo., and the fire department trained with BNSF crews on boom deployment on Whitefish Lake.

Page said BNSF has stockpiled supplies at their Whitefish facility and that the fire department has access to them.

“Whitefish firefighters are out the door in 90 seconds, we’re not just going to sit around and wait,” Page said. “If there is a spill we’re going to make a good attempt to stop it as much as we could knowing BNSF response is coming.”

Page also noted that the fire department doesn’t just prepare for a railroad emergency.

“Bakken oil has been getting all the press lately, but it’s not the only disaster planning we do,” Page said. “Most of our preparation is applicable to many incidents.”

Page worked on the Flathead County Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan updated last year. The plan identified a priority list of major hazards for the county.

“Severe winter weather is on the list, but in Whitefish we call that a powder day,” Page joked.

The entire city of Whitefish is in the wildland urban interface making it at risk in a wildfire incident. Both railway and truck transportation through the city make it at risk for a hazmat accident. Between Amtrak and tour buses running through the city there is the risk of an accident that could see a large number of patients. In addition, Whitefish is at risk because of the potential for a terrorist attack on the railway.