(Bloomberg) — A BNSF Railway train carrying crude oil derailedin North Dakota, setting several tank cars on fire and promptingthe evacuation of nearby residents, U.S. and local authoritiessaid.

The Federal Railroad Administration sent a 10-person teamWednesday to the site near the town of Heimdal to determine thecause of the accident, Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg said ina statement. No injuries were reported, according to a statementfrom BNSF.

"Today's incident is yet another reminder of why we issued asignificant, comprehensive rule aimed at improving the safetransport of high-hazard flammable liquids," Feinberg said. "TheFRA will continue to look at all options available to us to improvesafety and mitigate risks."

The fire, coming almost two years after a crude-train derailmentkilled 47 people in Lac Megantic, Quebec, highlights the growingdebate in the U.S. and Canada over how to move oil by rail. Thismonth, officials in both countries jointly set new rules ontank-car design and safety procedures to reduce the risks.

Overheating Cars

U.S. regulators want the industry to upgrade the so-calledCPC-1232 cars that were involved in Wednesday's derailment. Builtto the current industry standard, the cars can overheat and explodein a fire more quickly than previously thought, the NationalTransportation Safety Board said last month.

The BNSF derailment involved six or seven cars, according toDeputy Janelle Pepple of the Wells County sheriff's office. The FRAsaid there was "a large fire involving several tank cars." All buttwo of the 109 cars on the BNSF train were carrying crude oil, thecompany said in a statement.

The train derailed in a sparsely populated area, about 50 miles(80 kilometers) east of Minot, N.D. Heimdal is unincorporated andhad a population of 27, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

The accident occurred about 7:30 a.m. local time, said MichaelTrevino, a spokesman for BNSF, which is owned by Warren Buffett'sBerkshire Hathaway Inc. BNSF said company personnel are on-site toassess the accident, which will result in delays of some customershipments by 24 to 48 hours.

–With assistance from Jim Snyder in Washington.