The Washington Fire Chiefs, in a pointed letter, have asked the BNSF Railroad to turn over “Worst Case Scenarios” for an oil train accident as well as “Comprehensive Emergency Response Plans” for high hazard flammable trains.

The letter comes as three oil trains pass through Seattle each day en route to northern Puget Sound refineries. Railroads now transport one-tenth of U.S. crude oil output — approximately 1.1 million barrels a day.“What is the potential impact of a crude oil disaster in Washington communities?” the chiefs want to know.

Writing to BNSF CEO Matthew Rose, the fire chiefs said Seattle “narrowly missed disaster” last July when three tanker cars derailed at a rail yard under the Magnolia Bridge.

The train was going only 5 mph, but the cars that derailed were carrying 27,000 gallons of Bakken crude oil from North Dakota.

Signed by Washington Fire Chiefs Executive Director Wayne Senter, the letter sounded a note of frustration, telling Rose...