The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) estimates that it could require more than a year to conclude the investigation and to report its findings regarding the cause and circumstances of this accident. Meanwhile, NTSB is working with the city and the railroad in an attempt to pinpoint the cause. One of the questions that is being addressed pertains to the circumstances surrounding the water main break at Howard and Lombard streets three hours into the incident.
The NTSB is studying records of water flow and pressure supplied by the city in an effort to determine exactly when the affected system failed. The NTSB cautions that this is just one theory among others being considered, and that it may be several months or longer before there is a conclusion. NTSB took samples of the rail and water main for metallurgical analysis as part of its ongoing investigation over the cause of the accident. They are also reviewing the city’s Water Department maintenance records for the 40-inch main that cracked.
Questions have also arisen over the amount of time between the accident and notification to authorities at the onset of the fire. The accident is said to have occurred at about 1507 hours, but fire officials say they did not learn about the fire in the tunnel until about an hour afterward. The delay in notification certainly impacted the severity of the incident, which grew for over one hour in the confined space of the tunnel.
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