The derailment in Weyauwega occurred just before dawn around 5:55 a.m. on March 4, 1996.
The morning quiet was interrupted by the sounds of crashing metal & burning propane in
this East-Central Wisconsin farming community. At the North end of town, near an
industrial area, 37 cars of a Wisconsin Central Railroad train derailed. Among the 37
derailed cars were 7 tank cars of highly flammable liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), 7 tank
cars of highly flammable liquefied propane gas, and 2 tank cars of sodium hydroxide,
which is a non-flammable corrosive material. Initially, as a result of the derailment,
three of the tankcars opened up & the propane & LPG immediately caught fire.Twenty-Four
volunteer firefighters from the Weyauwega Fire Department were on the scene within five
minutes led by Assistant Chief Jim Baehnman.Upon sizing up the situation Chief Baehnman
realized that the incident was beyond local capabilities and notified dispatch to request
assistance from neighboring communities. Ten neighboring fire departments from Navarino,
Iola, Scandinauia, Manawa, Clintonville, Mukwa, Fremont,Waupaca, Poysippi, Tustin, and
New London, responded to Weyauwega's call for assistance bringing 22 pieces of fire
apparatus & over 200 firefighters. The way the fires were handled was documented & is
used today in training classes on how to handle these type of fires. Permission by Eric
Hanson for placing this cache. Congrats to Wegakempf for the FTF