At approximately 2:58 in the afternoon, a tank car containing 30,161 US gallons (114,170 L; 25,114 imp gal) of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exploded after an action taken during the cleanup related to the derailment.

[1] At about 10:30 p.m. on February 22, twenty-four cars of a 92-car Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) freight train derailed in the downtown area of Waverly.

Initially, local emergency services handled the accident, including inspecting the wreck for signs of any hazardous material (or hazmat) leaks.

Crews removed the wrecked cars and UTLX 83013 was moved to clear the tracks, and the rail line partially reopened at about 8 p.m. on February 23.

About 20 minutes before the LPG removal was to begin, the area was tested with dedicated gas detection equipment and no leaks were found.

The Waverly police and fire chiefs were on the scene and the hazmat crew was moving its equipment to start the transfer when at 2:58 p.m. vapor was discovered leaking from the tank car.

The explosion started numerous fires in nearby buildings and torched a number of road vehicles and other rail cars.

Air ambulances from Fort Campbell Army Post were dispatched to the site and the worst burn victims were moved to Nashville for initial treatment.

[3] The NTSB commended the town of Waverly on its preparedness for such an emergency, but also exposed the need for all people involved in accident cleanups to be trained in how to handle hazardous materials.

It was also one of the events that a National Governors Association study says helped push the establishment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), created by President Jimmy Carter's executive order in 1979.