Philadelphia, May 12, 2015—At about 9:21 p.m., Amtrak Train 188, carrying 250 people, went off the tracks as it rounded a curve near Philadelphia. The passengers and crew were strewn about as the seven cars and locomotive were hurled onto the track bed.
Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD) Executive Chief Clifford Gilliam explained that the initial crews quickly assessed the situation, called for the power to be cut off and requested additional resources. They then established an incident command system and triage area. The city’s emergency operation plan was implemented, and area hospitals were notified of the crash and the possibility of an onslaught of patients.
“The incident went to four alarms that involved 120 personnel and 33 apparatus,” Gilliam said. “As it was a mass-casualty incident, there were at least 18 units staffed by paramedics.”
Crews used a variety of rescue tools to gain access into the rail cars and were on the scene helping to dig through rubble for several days.
No emergency personnel were hurt during the operation. “We had adequate people to deal with it,” Gilliam said. “It was a huge incident for us, but we train for it.”
The NTSB investigators said in their preliminary report that the train entered a 50-mph curve at a speed of 106 mph. Eight passengers were killed, and more than 200 were injured in the crash.
—Susan Nicol
