Tuesday morning, February 2, a volunteer firefighter in Florida was hit by a train while was suppressing a vegetation fire near 1491 14th St. NW in Fort Meade. The injury occurred on a fire that burned three to four acres along the railroad tracks, mostly in grass.

According to WFLA News Channel 8 the fire had been contained and structures were saved, but as a CSX train approached, “The firefighter saw that the door was open on one of their trucks, so he ran over to shut the door of the truck, but the train arrived at about the same time he made it to the truck.”

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported the Fort Meade firefighter was transported to a hospital where he was treated for a broken leg.

The cause of the fire was not released, but from my experience it is common in some areas for trains to ignite fires adjacent to their tracks, started by hot carbon particles from the exhaust or brake failure.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Matt.