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If you are wondering how far a fireball travels from the scene of an oil train accident, you might decide to visit your local fire captain to see what might be learned.

After a few pleasantries, then explain that you are trying to learn if the recent train accidents are as dangerous as depicted in some of the letters to the editor over the past year. The captain may not want to oversimplify or complicate the issue. He states that after having attended several recent training sessions, the danger from an oil train accident is much less than the scaremongering often presented by people who seem to have some agenda different from educating and protecting citizens. The distance that the fireball and debris travel, he says, as well as the area to be evacuated, will vary on the amount of adjacent flammable material, the terrain around the accident site, and the weather conditions at the time. Oil itself is very sticky but does not catch on fire easily. In most cases, an evacuation distance of half-mile is for the safety of the first responders and the public, as the fireball does not spread very far unless something else catches on fire and explodes. A larger concern is about the fumes that are present.

Environmental damage is their final concern, as protecting the firefighters and the public must come first.

Activist hand-wringers often have ulterior motives. Ask them what is theirs.

JEREMY CONLIN

Cocolalla