MONT-ST-HILAIRE, Que. - Investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fiery crash of two Canadian National freight trains on December 30, 1999 in Mont-St.- Hilaire, Quebec. Two railroad workers were killed, including BLE member Yvan Theriault. Also killed was Conductor Paul Davis.

Brother Theriault, 47, was a member of BLE Division 558 (Charny, Quebec). He joined the BLE on September 1, 1977. He leaves behind a wife, Andree, a son Frederic and a daughter Caroline.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, January 8, at St. Nicolas, Quebec.

Theriault's and Davis' train collided with another one, setting off explosions and a fiery blaze that forced 700 people from their homes.

The fire ball sent flames shooting more than 50 metres into the air and lit up the night sky. Clouds of black smoke spewed from the blaze carrying a charred smell for kilometres. "The fire was so huge that my men couldn't get within 500 feet (150 metres)," said Gilles Dubuc, head of public security for the town.

Despite the loss of the two men, it could have been worse.

"Thank God it didn't happen within the city limits. It would have been a catastrophe and we would have had to evacuate half of the city because the railroad goes through the city."

About 13,000 people live in the community.

The two trains were travelling in opposite directions on different tracks when they met in Mont-St-Hilaire, about 50 kilometres east of Montreal. CN officials can't say what happened but they suspect one of the trains derailed and tipped over on to the other.

One man who was evacuated said he saw "a mushroom cloud in the sky. The windows in my home shook."

Mario Masse, who lives about a kilometre from the accident site, said he could feel the heat from the fire on his cheeks.

"There were three explosions and with the third explosion, we were at the window, and we could feel the heat on our faces," Masse said. "The power went out for about three or four seconds," in his home with the collision.

"We heard what sounded like a derailment or a collision. Then we saw the flames shooting out of the trains."

The same tracks are used by VIA Rail for its passenger trains between Montreal and Quebec City.

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© 2000 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers