Chemicals Burn After Train Derails

A freight train derailed Sunday afternoon, spilling thousands of gallons of chemicals that ignited in a fireball, authorities said. Two nearby houses were heavily damaged.

At least seven of the 42 cars of the CSX Corp. train jumped the rails around 3:30 p.m. in Charlotte, a suburb north of Rochester. Two tankers containing methylene chloride and acetone leaked and caught fire, Fire Capt. Dan McBride said.

There was no immediate word of whether the chemicals posed environmental or health dangers. No one was evacuated, but officials opened a school for residents unable to get to their homes.