Even if you’ve seen a similar scene before, every call is different for a firefighter.
“I’ve been through things like this before,” said Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Public Information Officer Tom Francis.
“Each of them contains approximately 30,000 gallons," Francis said.
Firefighters were on standby Monday to assist CSX workers as they worked to get two derailed train cars out of Cabin Creek. Both cars were carrying a total of 60,000 gallons of ethanol.
Since the derailment on Sunday night, southbound traffic on North Main Street has been diverted to the northbound lanes between Baisden Road and Cedar Bay Road. The diversion is expected to continue throughout the night.
“We’re metering constantly to see if, for example, a leak is taking place from any of the cars," Francis said.
There have not been any leaks reported since the derailment.
CSX is responsible for bringing in the heavy equipment needed to get the tankers out of the water. How long that will take and the cleanup afterword is still unknown.
“We’re just going to focus on being very thorough and very deliberate in all of our actions," Francis said.
While cleanup efforts may take hours -- even days -- and traffic may be a pain, local car dealerships said they could benefit from the stall. Francis adds while cleanup may be slow, he’s just thankful no one was injured.
“What matters here is precisely that kind of deliberate approach as opposed to being expeditious and potentially reckless,” he said.