RENNERT — Nearly 80 years ago, residents in a small Robeson County town were jolted awake by what is known as the deadliest train accident in North Carolina history.

The railroad accident occurred on Dec. 16, 1943 in Rennert, a town in the northern part of the county. During the accident, 74 people were killed on the Atlantic Coast Line when the northbound Tamiami Champion struck the derailed rear three cars of its southbound counterpart.

“From the Fires Scattered There,” written by local author Kammeron Polverari and published by Warren Publishing, ensures this tragic piece of history is not forgotten. Pre-orders are now available for this “haunting” historical fiction novel told from the perspectives of five fictional characters that provide readers with a graphic account of the tragedy.

Polverari’s storytelling not only reveals the horrors of the day, but also highlights how a community rallied together to contribute kindness and resources to those affected by the tragedy.

“The 1943 Tamiami train wreck is a widely unknown tragedy that I hope to give a permanent place on bookshelves,” said Polverari, who paints a picture of pure carnage and devastation, bringing to life a true story that left a lasting mark on an entire community.

Inspired by her love of classic authors like Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allen Poe, and Mary Shelley, Polverari writes in a voice that is simultaneously “beautiful, poignant, and haunting” as she weaves shadows of the past into an inspirational story.

Polverari’s five protagonists champion fundamental truths, highlighting the very best of how humanity responds in the depths of tragedy. Each character showcases different values and characteristics: vulnerability, fortitude, wisdom, bravery and intuition.

Each chapter leads off with a stanza from an original poem created by Polverari to foreshadow and set the tone as the story and characters progress and horror looms.

One example reads, “And from the fires scattered there / Satan then arose. / He breathed a breath of grief and death / and reveled in their woes.”

“My goal in writing From the Fires Scattered There is to educate and bring to light what happened in this tragedy, and give the victims and those associated with this event a tangible memory of their experience,” Polverari said.

Polverari took part in countless hours of research, visits to the site of the tragedy, and an interview with the son of a doctor who treated victims of the accident for the debut novel.

“From the Fires Scattered There” can be ordered on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, warrenpublishing.net, and asked for wherever books are sold.

Polverari was born and raised in both Carolinas, and while she has lived in several far-flung places, she keeps coming home to Fairmont. A high school English teacher and avid hiker on a quest to complete the North Carolina Mountains to Sea Trail before the age of 90, Kammeron said she confronts hard topics and unearth crucial elements of tragedy and humanity, especially when it comes to history.

An experienced writer of newspaper feature articles and a hiking blog, Thoughtreviewblog.wordpress.com, Polverari is forging her own path into the world of books with her new novel, “From the Fires Scattered There.”