WHEREAS,  in the early morning of July 6, 2013, a driverless runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, a small town in Quebec 10 miles west of the Maine border; and

WHEREAS,  5 locomotives and 72 oil cars had been parked 8 miles from Lac-Megantic when the brakes somehow released and the train rolled down a hill into the center of town, exploding into a giant fireball and flattening dozens of buildings, leaving many people dead or missing and forcing the evacuation of 2,000 townspeople; and

WHEREAS,  the Border Patrol and United States Customs called for assistance from the Franklin County emergency management system, and firefighters from Maine immediately travelled to assist in fighting the blazing fire; and

WHEREAS,  the train was operated by the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, based in Hermon, Maine, and the accident is being investigated by Canada's Transportation Safety Board; and

WHEREAS,  Maine and Quebec have long had common and close historical, cultural and friendly ties, and this tragedy in Lac-Megantic saddens and shocks the citizens of Maine; now, therefore, be it