A Loram rail grinder working near Brocket, Alberta - 27 Aug 2013 Bryan Passifiume.

28 August 2013

Crews Deal with Railway Fire

Pincher Creek Alberta - A fire at a railway crossing southeast of Pincher Creek kept emergency crews busy Wednesday morning.
 
Pincher Creek fire got a back line call from a local rancher just before 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 28 Aug 2013, reporting a fire at a railway crossing north of Highway 505 east of Highway 6, about 20 kilometres south of Pincher Creek.
 
Upon arriving on scene, crews discovered that the wooden ties between the rails had been set ablaze.
 
While the fire was contained to the creosote-soaked railway ties, Pincher Creek fire chief Dave Cox told the Sun that it had the potential to get a lot worse.
 
"It's the sort of thing you have to deal with," Cox said, noting that the cloudy and humid conditions prevented the fire from growing faster than it did.
 
While the fire is still under investigation, the fires comes less than seven hours after crews from Loram Rail Maintenance were performing rail grinding operations in the area.
 
Under contract to Canadian Pacific Railway, Loram operated an overnight rail grinding train on the CP Pecten Subdivision, a 50 kilometre branch line that runs from Brocket to the Shell Waterton gas plant south of Pincher Creek.
 
Rail grinding frequently ignites trackside fires, which are normally dealt with by water cannons mounted on rail grinding trains, as well as rail-riding fire trucks that follow close behind. The multi-unit machine uses large grinding wheels to reshape the steel track as part of regular railway maintenance.
 
In 2008, a house was destroyed and several kilometers of land was scorched in Brocket following a blaze triggered by rail grinding operations. The fire also forced thirteen people from their homes on the Piikani Indian reservation.
 
Bryan Passifiume.

Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada