Bensalem, Pa., freight train derailment prompts shelter in place
News today starts now. Good morning as we approach 6 o’clock on this Tuesday morning. I’m Matt Barcaro. I’m Caitlin Smith. Here’s what else we are following across the Susquehanna Valley this morning. Christine is tracking our hot day, and Regina is here with *** look at our morning commute. News’s Gabrielle Thomas is live in Lancaster County with how an animal hospital says you can keep. Your pets safe during this heat and News’s Cameron Loy is joining us from York County with how you can help students who rely on schools for lunch get that food still over these summer months. Let’s get to the weather. We have *** live look from our Gettysburg sky cam in Adams County where the heat wave is underway right now, Christine. It’s certainly going to be *** toasty one today and then tomorrow we get that dangerous heat with the heat index values 105 to 110. That continues Thursday and Friday, so it’s three straight days where we have now *** newly upgraded extreme heat warning. You see that in the magenta for the entire Susquehanna Valley for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. And then in addition, the National Weather Service has tacked on *** heat advisory for. Saturday for Independence Day, so that means the heat plus the humidity could still make it feel like 100 to 104 degrees. In addition, we’ll have *** few storms around on Saturday. Temperature check 68 degrees in Carlisle, 66, 11 and 63. Coolest part of the day in York right now. Dew points are in the 60s, so yes, it feels warm, it feels muggy, but not tropical yet. That humidity is coming for us tomorrow. Here’s the 12 hour forecast we see partly to mostly sunny skies this afternoon with *** high of 92. It’s going to be another hot one, Regina, but just not as intense as it will be Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, which is the peak of the heat wave this week. And like I always say, it’s going to be tropical like you said tomorrow, so you can get, you know, your, your pina colada or whatever into Florida tomorrow. Yes, I love that. All right, Christine, thank you. 6:01 on the clock, everybody. On your Tuesday morning right now, no crashes across the Susquena Valley. You’re good to go at this hour. Taking *** peek outside, here’s Lancaster County Eforda Route 222322. No incidents there. Looks like all is well and no issues that I’m seeing along that route. Lancaster to Columbia, 10 minute drive, 20 minutes to the turnpike. If you’re headed to Elizabethtown, that’s *** 15 minute commute on 283. We’ll have another update in traffic in about 5 minutes. This has been *** Lancaster Toyota traffic report. Today is the deadline for state lawmakers to pass *** budget. Governor Josh Shapiro has proposed *** $53.3 billion spending plan. Republican state lawmakers though say *** budget of that size will drain the state’s reserves and could force *** tax hike in the long term. The two top leaders in the state House, *** Democrat and Republican, had *** closed-door meeting with the governor last night, and the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, who you just saw there, Jordan Harris, says public school funding and social services are *** priority. We’ve been very clear that we are not moving away from our commitment to public education. We’ve been very clear that we’re not in favor of removing people from healthcare. Any budget that does any of those things is not something that we’re looking at entertaining. Last year, the budget passed 135 days late. 6:02 as we are getting ready for this heat wave that’s under us right now with dangerous heat coming our way in the next few days. So joining us for how to stay safe in this heat is Doctor Jamaji Wanaji and Wareham with Penn Medicine. Good morning to you. Thanks for joining us this morning. First, let’s talk about some of the common things that you see during the summer months, especially when it’s getting just as hot as it is expected to this week. Good morning. I wanna first start off with just saying that the big message for this week and for many of these months is that no one is really immune to extreme heat, right? So heat can affect anyone. We oftentimes focus on the young or the old or folks who are living with medical issues like heart failure, um, but even someone without any medical issues can be affected. Signs then of, you know, when you just need *** cold glass of water to when you actually need to get some help. For sure, yeah. So the good news is there are ways that we can act, um, but many of them involve us being mindful. So, um, the biggest thing is to look online now for various offerings from your city, from your local public health department. All of these things can help us manage this heat, especially for our neighbors who are unhoused or facing socioeconomic hardships. Visit these websites as there are many things that are out there that can help us. Hydrate, even if you feel fine, that’s *** huge thing. This is something that you wanna be mindful of all along the way. Don’t wait until you start to feel bad. And then finally, you know yourself better than anyone else. If you feel weak or if you feel sick, I would recommend that you act early. Uh, if someone isn’t acting as they normally would, that could also be something to watch out for. Weakness, slurred speech, extreme nausea, and not acting as you normally would, could all technically be signs of *** heat stroke, and *** heat stroke is indeed *** medical emergency. Um, you can always do things like putting ice around your neck, underneath the arms, but if someone’s acting oddly, don’t wait, reach out with 911. Now we have cooling centers in our community, some of the ways that you were just talking about reaching out to your community to see what is offered, but how about for people who really have no choice and have to work out in this heat? I know you said about the ice around the neck, but is there any suggestion to those workers or even maybe their employers on maybe not having them work out in the heat? Hydrate, um, even if you feel fine, that’s *** huge first step. You can wear things like hats, and then if able, always move to spaces that may not be as hot. All right, well, we are expecting, uh, people will be outside because of the 4th of July holiday. There are *** lot of events happening in this heat, and even in the evening time, Doctor, it, it’s not going to be that cool, you know, the nighttime still could be ***, ***, *** dangerous period. You’re absolutely spot on with that, and I know we talk about ways not to end up in the hospital, um, but even if you end up there, that’s OK. Just know that we’re here and we’re willing to help you in your moment of need. Um, this is *** weekend, really have fun, so I hope that everyone stays safe out there. Great advice from you this morning. Thank you so much. Thank you. We were just talking about those cooling stations. Well, there are some set up in York, and here is *** look on your screen at the stations that leaders in York are encouraging you to use. These are set up across the city there now they do have some different hours, but each one usually wraps up around 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon. So if you’d like to get out of the heat of the day, at least you could visit one of those centers. The Dawson County Area Agency on Aging also setting up some. Cooling centers. This is *** list of them throughout Dauphin County. They include the Friendship Senior Center, also the Lichens Ballroom Senior Center, and the Leader Center for Active Life in Hershey. And while we’re at it, let’s talk about your pets in this heat as well. You may want to be keeping an extra close eye on them, especially if they’re outside for any prolonged amount of time. Be vigilant for all members of your family, including your pets. News eight’s Gabrielle Thomas is live in Lancaster County with *** veterinarian this morning, Gabrielle. Good morning, Matt and Caitlin. Well, our pets depend on us to keep them cool, especially during extreme heat. So it’s your job to make sure they are getting plenty of water and knowing the signs of heat-related illnesses. And I have Doctor Bartlett joining me this morning. He’s the owner here at Columbia Animal Hospital as well as Bailey. You see here, she’s napping out. It’s *** little too early for her, but Doctor Bartlett, what are the signs of, uh, heat-related illnesses? What should people look out for in their pet? Thanks, thanks, Gabrielle. It’s great to be with you today. Uh, definitely respiratory distress, you know, with exertion outside in the, in the heat. These guys will start to have, uh, difficulty breathing, panting, very anxious expression, uh, labored breathing, and then, uh, with, after *** period of time, they, you start to have like signs of shock kicking in, weakness and collapse, uh, and then definitely they’ll feel hot. Their mucous membrane, if you were to check their gums, their gums become very red, dilated. Um, so it just, it just stresses the entire, the body system, respiratory, cardiovascular and unfortunately, often leads to death without treatment. Who should pet owners call if something like this happens, you know, and they’re experiencing like *** heat related illness? Definitely *** veterinarian either at an emergency clinic or, or *** veterinary clinic, and you want to go as soon as, pretty much immediately. And how do you treat them or treat those pets until, uh, you know, you get them to *** veterinary, clinic. Right. You want, you want to, um, get them wet, get them cooled down with cool water, and if you could get ***, get *** fan on them to try to really, you know, evaporate that water and help cool their body temperature down, that helps *** lot. Uh, have them drink, uh, like ice water too, anything to cool their, their internal core temperature is what, what we’re trying to do. Uh, with that. And Doctor Bartlett, if people do plan to take their, uh, pets outside this week, what are some of the best times that they should walk them? I mean, I would try to avoid the, the, definitely the heat of the day. Early morning hours are great. Later in the evening is great too, but, you know, pretty much before 8 and after 9:00 p.m. something like that. Doctor Bartlett, Well, just remember, if you’re hot, your pets are probably hot too, so just continue to give them water throughout the day. Dr. Bartlett says every 15 minutes if you do plan to have them outside. Reporting live here in West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, I’m Gabrielle Thomas, WGAL Music. I think Bailey has the right idea. Just lay back, relax in the air conditioning. She’s not fazed at all being on live TV. Good for her. All right, thanks Gabriel for that important information for pet owners and ahead of this, uh, heat as we are right in the middle of the heat wave right now, the storm team has you covered throughout the entirety of the week. Be sure to download the WGAL app to stay up to date with the latest forecast. It’s 6:09 in York County. *** church is making sure that students are staying fed throughout the summer months. News’s Cameron Lovely is live at Wrightsville Presbyterian Church. They have *** summer meal program, *** couple of years running now. So Cam, what’s, uh, being offered for the students? What’s on the menu? Well guys, let’s give you *** look right now. I’m here with uh uh Alicia, Jessie, and also Carolyn joining us right now. She’s the one who’s behind these smoothies that we’re actually trying right now and if you’re looking at the color right now, you’re seeing green and you’re probably wondering why that is, uh, Carolyn, there’s *** bit of ***, *** fun sort of story behind the, uh, smoothies. I came up with this recipe so that my grandsons would learn to eat vegetables. So, in this smoothie is frozen strawberries, and yogurt, and *** little bit of milk, and kale is what makes it green. So, when we have these for the kids at our summer lunch program, we have to sell it. So, um, They look at it and they go, ew, and then they taste it and they go, wow, that’s really good. Well, we’ve all been having it right here and you know, you can see I’ve already made my way through part of it right now. Cheers guys, but it is. Mm. It is pretty dang good. This is definitely something that the kids are gonna enjoy. It’s one of the things that you guys are offering, but there are plenty more, uh, things that you’re offering throughout the week. Um, can you talk *** little bit about how, uh, you guys are offering stuff even beyond food, is that right? Yeah, our church is ***, uh, host site for the Power Packs project and for the giving table. So on Thursdays, um, any families in Eastern York School District, um, who are enrolled in the Power Packs Project, uh, can come here on Thursdays, get *** bagged lunch, and receive *** weekend meal kit. Um, and the giving table is *** supplement to that program as well. So come get your power pack, get your bagged lunch, and then you can choose some extra items, um, to feed your family, um, from the giving table. So we have lots of, um, programs for food insecure families, uh, right here in Wrightsville, and plenty of ways to support this. Program just by stopping by here you can uh support them financially, make sure that these meals are still getting to kids throughout the summer. This program’s gonna be running until August 14th, and if you’re planning on stopping by, you can do so on weekdays from 11 to 12:30. We’re live in Wrightsville. Cameron Lovely, WGAL News 8 with *** smoothie on the side, full service. All right, thanks, Cameron for that.
Bensalem, Pa., freight train derailment prompts shelter in place
Updated: 5:03 PM EDT Jun 30, 2026
A freight train derailment in Bucks County has prompted a shelter-in-place order for some residents in Bensalem, Pa. Video above: Top stories, weather forecast from WGAL News 8.”At this time, there is a report of 5-10 derailed freight cars. We are currently assessing the contents of the train cars and will send an update as soon as we have more information,” a statement from the Bensalem Police Department said.The derailment happened between Street Road and the Neshaminy Falls Train Station.Government response Several lawmakers said they were working with authorities.”My office is working directly with local officials and first responders, as well as the Department of Transportation, following the freight train derailment in Bensalem near Street Road and the Neshaminy Falls Train Station,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said in a Facebook post. Some of the cars may contain hazardous materials, according to Fitzpatrick. “A one-mile shelter-in-place order is currently in effect. Anyone within that area should remain indoors, bring pets and other animals inside, close windows, doors, and vents, and turn off heating and air conditioning systems until further notice,” Fitzpatrick said.People outside the shelter in place area are asked to avoid the scene and keep area roads clear so first responders can move safely. “At this time, no injuries have been reported,” Pennsylvania State Sen. Frank Farry posted on Facebook. “SEPTA service on the West Trenton Line has been suspended. Local and county first responders are on the scene and actively responding. Our office has been in contact with CSX and will continue to share updates as they become available.”
BENSALEM, Pa. —
A freight train derailment in Bucks County has prompted a shelter-in-place order for some residents in Bensalem, Pa.
Video above: Top stories, weather forecast from WGAL News 8.
“At this time, there is a report of 5-10 derailed freight cars. We are currently assessing the contents of the train cars and will send an update as soon as we have more information,” a statement from the Bensalem Police Department said.
The derailment happened between Street Road and the Neshaminy Falls Train Station.
Government response
Several lawmakers said they were working with authorities.
“My office is working directly with local officials and first responders, as well as the Department of Transportation, following the freight train derailment in Bensalem near Street Road and the Neshaminy Falls Train Station,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said in a Facebook post.
Some of the cars may contain hazardous materials, according to Fitzpatrick.
“A one-mile shelter-in-place order is currently in effect. Anyone within that area should remain indoors, bring pets and other animals inside, close windows, doors, and vents, and turn off heating and air conditioning systems until further notice,” Fitzpatrick said.
People outside the shelter in place area are asked to avoid the scene and keep area roads clear so first responders can move safely.
“At this time, no injuries have been reported,” Pennsylvania State Sen. Frank Farry posted on Facebook. “SEPTA service on the West Trenton Line has been suspended. Local and county first responders are on the scene and actively responding. Our office has been in contact with CSX and will continue to share updates as they become available.”