Railroad locomotive causes fire near ammo plant

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McAlester railroad locomotive fire
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant firefighters Doyle Mitchell, left, and Spec. Amanda Lainberger spray water on a stockpile of railroad ties during a grass fire Monday at the ammunition plant. The fire was caused by an operating locomotive. There were no fatalities or injuries.

A railroad locomotive started a fire on the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in southeast Oklahoma on Monday which spread into a stockpile of railroad ties. The 20-acre fire extended along one mile of railroad track.

Here is an excerpt from a news release:

…There were no injuries or fatalities. The fire was declared contained at 6 p.m. on Monday but was still smoldering this morning and is being monitored by the McAAP fire agency.

McAAP has about 210 miles of railroad tracks.

Twenty McAAP firefighters, including four who were called back to duty, engaged the blaze using water and foam from six wildfire units and two pumper trucks. Several other independent fires broke out which were quickly contained.

Five buildings and at least six box cars were threatened by the grass fire. A single 500-square foot building already scheduled for demolition caught on fire but was extinguished. The coordinated effort of MCAAP’s fire department, railroad crews and roads and grounds personnel prevented the fire from causing any further damage. The fire was contained and presented no danger to the plant’s personnel and the communities surrounding the installation.

Residents near Interstate want a fire wall for wildfire protection

Ashland fire
Photo: Ashland Daily Tidings

After a fire started near Interstate 5 in Ashland, Oregon last August jumped the Interstate and burned 11 houses, residents asked the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to build a concrete wall to protect the houses they are now rebuilding from future fires that might start along the Interstate.

A homeless man, John David Thiry, was arrested and charged with starting the fire. He was found at 3 a.m., intoxicated, under a freeway overpass a few hours after the fire started.

A local contractor estimated that an 8-foot high concrete wall 900 feet long would cost $93,000. However, the ODOT said they don’t build fire-protection walls, only walls to buffer sound.

Here is an excerpt from an article at DailyTidings.com:

[Jerry Marmon, ODOT district manager] said fires that start from cigarettes or broken-down cars on the side of the freeway usually are small and don’t spread quickly.

“They’re typically very small, very slow-growing fires,” he said. “We keep the grass mowed there to reduce the fire hazard.”

Fueled by strong winds and low humidity, the Oak Knoll fire started in a brush field near Washington Street, consumed an abandoned barn and jumped the freeway, igniting the 11 houses within minutes. Firefighters have said that embers from where the fire began, on the other side of Interstate 5, were traveling 1,400 feet in the air, and easily could have ignited other homes in the area.

“We’re not going to be able to build a wall adjacent to both sides of the freeway that’s high enough to prevent conditions like those on that day,” Marmon said.

However, the fire victims say building a wall could at least help slow the spread of another potential fire and might save homes from igniting like candles, one after another.

“Are we going to have this string of mishmash fences back there again?” Thomas said. “It doesn’t seem smart to build a wooden fence again.”

A wall would help bring peace of mind to some of the fire victims, said Rick Ogier, who lost his home to the fire.

Lake State Railway ordered to pay $295,752 for starting wildfire

The Lake State Railway in Michigan pleaded no contest on January 2 to criminal charges of operating a locomotive without a spark arrestor and was ordered to pay $294,752 in restitution and a $1,000 fine after their railroad engine started a fire in 2008 fire that burned 1,300 acres of forest, several homes, and other buildings near Grayling, Michigan.

Wildfire Today has been covering this story since the Michigan Attorney General, Mike Cox, first filed the charges in February, 2010. Other articles we wrote about the case are HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Below is an excerpt from an article at mlive.com:

Lake State Railway today pleaded no contest to charges of operating a locomotive without a spark arrester in Crawford and Arenac counties, said Joy Yearout, spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Schuette.

Charges of intentionally setting a wildfire were dismissed as part of the plea deal, said Yearout.

A civil lawsuit against Lake State is pending Crawford County.

An Arenac County judge placed the company on probation for one year and imposed $1,000 in fines and costs plus $294,752 in restitution to be paid to the state within 30 days, she said.

The company also must work with the state Department of Natural Resources and Environment to institute a fire prevention plan, said Yearout.

Lake State is likely to face the same penalty in Crawford County where sentencing is set for 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 14.

“We’re pleased with this agreement,” said Yearout. “The victims of the fires will receive the restitution that they are owed and the fire prevention plan that Lake State Railway will implement will significantly reduce the risk of any future fires.”

The April 24, 2008, fire caused nearly $934,000 damage and scorched 1,300 acres of Grayling-area woodland, Bay City Times records show.

Damage estimates included $464,000 in timber loss, $370,000 in personal property loss and $100,000 in fire suppression costs, according to Times archives.

Wildfire Today has praised the former Attorney General Cox for holding the railroad accountable for negligently starting fires by operating an engine without the required spark arrestor. While he was in office the state took the right approach to railroad-caused fires, unlike the state of Washington.

We hope the new Attorney General, Bill Schuette, who was sworn in on January 1, 2011, will uphold the law to the same extent as his predecessor, Mike Cox. However we are a little worried that Lake State Railway only received a $1,000 fine for their irresponsible actions and that their restitution was only a fraction of the estimated damages. But we will withhold judgement until after the Crawford County criminal and civil cases are finalized.

Civil suit still pending

On September 17, 2010 the Grayling Game Club filed a civil suit in Crawford County against the railroad. During the fire in 2008, 500 acres of the club’s property burned, in addition to several cabins. Michigan law allows for the club to recover triple the value of the property destroyed, which is estimated to be over $1 million. The club is represented by Southfield, Michigan attorney Paul F. Doherty, who told Wildfire Today that they want the criminal cases to be wrapped up before they take further action in their civil case.

Nebraska Prescribed Fire Training Exchange

The Nature Conservancy and the five federal land management agencies with wildfire responsibilities are planning a “training exchange” to enhance the skills and experience of firefighters who are trainees for the following positions: Burn Boss types 2 and 3, Firing Boss, Engine Boss, Type 1 Firefighter, and Fire Effects Monitor.

This is a training format that is new to us. Check out the announcement below. Click on the “+” or “FullScreen” to see a larger version.
Nebraska Prescribed Burn Training Exchange Mar-2011

Thieves steal $100,000 of wildfire equipment in SC

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Thieves stole $100,000 worth of wildfire equipment from the South Carolina Forestry Commission, according to an article at TheSunNews:

Sophisticated thieves pilfered some $100,000 of emergency response equipment from the S.C. Forestry Commission’s main maintenance and storage area in Columbia sometime during the Christmas break, officials said Thursday.

Missing items include equipment the agency needs for emergency response, said commission spokesman Scott Hawkins.

“Many of the items are things our Incident Management Team must have to respond to large-scale disasters, such as the bigger wildfires and hurricanes,” he said.

“This was not a happy Christmas for us,” Hawkins said.

Among the items taken were 13 Dell laptops, two all-terrain vehicles equipped for law enforcement and firefighting duties, various tools and a Ford F350 diesel flatbed truck adorned with the agency’s logo.

“While we remain prepared to protect South Carolinians during the upcoming wildfire season, our ability to mobilize for large-scale disasters is greatly hindered because of the gear they chose to steal,” Hawkins said, adding much of it was acquired with federal Homeland Security grants and won’t be replaced easily.

Intruders entered the Forestry Commission’s complex by cutting through a locked gate.

The theft was discovered Monday when a supervisor went to get a piece of equipment at the shop complex.

“I would stop short of calling it an inside job, but whoever did it knew what they were doing and knew the place,” Hawkins said.

Anyone with information should call the SC Forestry Commission at 800-777-3473.

Thanks Dick

Israel to create National Fire Authority

In the wake of the Carmel Fire and the criticism that followed, the Israeli Cabinet is expected to create a National Fire Authority and an aerial firefighting force.

Here is an excerpt from an article at Thaivisa.com:

We are busy with the very quick rehabilitation of the Carmel area,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, adding that the Cabinet is expected to issue a memorandum for a decision next Sunday on the establishment of a national fire authority and an aerial firefighting force. “We will submit budgets for this,” he added.

Having aircraft dedicated to wildfire aviation, or at least being able to quickly covert to be able to fight fire, would reduce their existing response time of days, to minutes or hours. During the Carmel Fire, Israel requested helicopters and air tankers from western Europe and the United States, which is not exactly initial attack.

Approximately 44 firefighters and prison guards died in the 9,000-acre fire in December.