St. Andrews residents who live close to the railway line throw buckets of water on a number of small fires on their property.

17 May 2011

CPR Engine Cause of Fires Along Railway Line

St. Andrews Manitoba - On the early afternoon of 17 May 2011 St. Andrews residents, who live close to Highway 9 and Highway 67 responded quickly with their best effort to put out a number of small fires on their property next to the CP railway line that runs North South along Highway 9.
 
St. Andrews Fire Department responded to the fires which were not only burning on private property but also on CPR property.
 
All fires were eventually extinguished with combined efforts from the St. Andrews Fire Department, CPR workers, and neighbouring residents.
 
According to the R.M. of St. Andrews Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Nazimek, in a recent conversation with a CPR foreman, the cause of the small fires along the CP railway line between the junction of highway 9 and highway 9A to Lockport Road was an overloaded train.
 
This ultimately resulted in the engine pulling the train to produce sparks which caused the prairie grasses along the railway line to catch on fire.
 
"The CP foreman said the fires were caused from an overloaded train, pulling too many cars," explained Nazimek.
 
"When the diesel engine was running so hard it produces carbon deposits in the exhaust system."
 
Nazimek also noted from his discussion with the CPR foreman that one of the engines was also leaking hot oil which could have also ignited some of the fires along the railway line.
 
"The engine needed maintenance work and was taken into the city (Winnipeg)," said Nazimek.
 
Brook Jones.