A train is being blamed for starting five wildfires in southwest South Dakota on Friday. One of the fires near Ardmore burned an estimated 20 to 25 acres.
We have reported on numerous railroad-caused fires previously and have said that most of the time the railroad company receives a free pass. They start the fire (usually preventable by proper maintenance of their equipment), fire departments respond, put out the fire, and that’s the end of it.
Most railroad-caused fires are preventable.They are not inevitable.
Railroads need to be held accountable. They need to be billed for the suppression costs and any damage caused by the fire. They should also be charged with the crime of starting a fire. Only then will they have an incentive to properly maintain their equipment. Last year the U. S. Department of Justice settled a record $102 million civil lawsuit with the Union Pacific railroad for starting the 52,000 acre Storrie fire in the Plumas and Lassen National Forests in California in 2000.
File photo of a railroad-caused fire in Indiana. Photo: Bill Gabbert
Fire departments, while suppressing a fire near railroad tracks, should also shut down the tracks to any further train traffic. This will provide a safer working environment for the firefighters, and also tends to get the attention of the managers of the railroad, especially on a busy section of track. Fire dispatchers should have the phone numbers available for the railroad dispatch office so they can make the call to shut down the tracks if requested by the on-scene firefighters.
Trains are supposed to stop if an emergency vehicle is parked near the tracks with the red lights flashing, but they don’t always adhere to this rule. I did this once on a fire and the train made what the engineer called an “emergency stop”. He was pissed, because when this is done, they have to walk the entire length of the train to check for any problems that may have been caused by the quick stop. Coal-hauling trains can be very long… I’m just saying.
An Accident Prevention Analysis Report is available on the Lessons Learned site for the engine rollover that occurred on the Los Padres National Forest in southern California, October 3, 2008.
Minnesota activates National Guard for fires
Governor Tim Pawlenty ordered the Minnesota National Guard to assist in suppressing vegetation fires in the state. Under the emergency executive order, the Guard will supply both people and equipment to the Department of Natural Resources. Oddly, the order which was signed on April 7:
…shall be effective retroactively to April 6, 2009, and will remain in effect until the conclusion of the emergency.
The order refers to:
…a wild grassfire was burning in and around the Carlos Avery Wildlife Refuge, west of Forest Lake. The Governor’s Emergency Executive Order provides personnel and equipment assistance for air wild grassfire suppression from the Minnesota National Guard.
The order was apparently written hurriedly. The fire referred to is the one for which the volunteer firefighter, John Berkin, was charged with arson. It burned 1,500 acres…more information is below.
West Virginia: Tourist train starts 150-acre fire
The West Virginia Division of Foresty has confirmed that a tourist train run by the Durbin & Greenbrier Railroad Company is responsible for starting a fire that burned 150 acres near Elkins last month.
Shon Butler of the Division of Forestry said they are meeting with the Randolph County prosecutor to determine whether charges should be filed. Maybe in this case a railroad that starts a fire will not get a free pass. Congratulations to the DOF for pursuing this case.
Report about firefighter killed in chain saw training
The report about the Florida firefighter that was killed during chainsaw training is now online. We updated our earlier post HERE to include more details.
How the Minnesota firefighter-arsonist was caught
Yesterday Wildfire Today covered the arrest of John Berkin, the firefighter in Minnesota who is suspected of setting a 1,500 acre vegetation fire near Minneapolis. The facts are emerging about how he was identified. From KARE11.com:
KARE spoke with two witnesses — a father and daughter — who helped lead authorities to Berken. They asked not to be identified out of fear for their safety.
They say they were driving to Forest Lake for groceries around 1 p.m. Monday when the father looked in his rearview mirror and saw something shoot out of the car behind him.
“I saw this stream of grey smoke, an explosion of fireworks,” he says. “I mean, red, white, blue, green. They just shot all over the place and it was instant flames.”
The daughter immediately called 911. They got behind the suspect’s car to get a look at his license plate, which had a red “Firefighter” emblem.
“I was really stunned,” the daughter says. “I’m like, I think this guy’s a firefighter.”
They followed the speeding suspect for about three miles but eventually lost him. Still, their description helped investigators identify Berken. He was arrested at the scene a few hours later while fighting the fire.
“I’m told he was taken into custody at one of the homes that had been evacuated,” says Lt. Paul Sommer of the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office
Berken received an award for helping save someone’s life a few years ago. But authorities say his past also includes convictions for check forgery and theft. Sommer says Berken was convicted in 1991 of broadcasting false aircraft distress signals.
“The suspect has a pretty significant criminal history for someone who’s a firefighter,” Sommer says.
UPDATE April 8 @ 12:05 p.m. MT
From TwinCities.com:
During a search of (Berken’s) Columbus home, investigators found a large grocery bag full of fireworks in his garage, according to the complaint. In the master bedroom, investigators also found two letters from the Forest Lake Fire Department reprimanding him for not meeting attendance standards.
A canine from Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms trained to detect explosive materials and residue “hit” on Berken’s vehicle and his fire gloves, the complaint said.
Berken has a checkered past that includes legal troubles dating back to 1991. He was convicted that year of calling a local airport, threatening to blow it up. He was sentenced in federal court to a year in prison for making false radio transmissions.
SDG&E preemptive power shutoff plan raises concerns
The plan of San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) to turn off the power to large sections of San Diego county during periods of high fire danger was presented to a gathering of more than 300 people on April 7 in Alpine, California. Wildfire Today has covered this issue several times before, most recently on April 5 when we posted a map of the areas that could be affected.
A number of people who expressed their opinions at the meeting last night agreed with Wildfire Today’s stance that the plan is simply a way for the power company to avoid liability and also to save money by not making upgrades to their existing powerlines.
Here are some excerpts from a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune:
David Geier, the utility’s vice president of electric transmission, told the more than 300 people in attendance that SDG&E looks at the plan “as a final defense. . . . The whole goal of the program is to reduce catastrophic fires.”
But many people said losing power would create its own dangers. Children could be stranded at backcountry schools; firefighters and property owners might not have water because pumps couldn’t operate; communications systems would be worthless; and people with health problems who rely on electric-powered equipment could be at risk.
Janis Shackelford of Lakeside said the proposal would duplicate conditions that killed 13 people on Muth Valley Road during the first hours of the human-caused 2003 Cedar fire.
The fire had cut power “and the Muth Valley people couldn’t see where they were going in the dark and the smoke,” she said. “SDG&E is proposing to create its own natural disaster.”
The state Public Utilities Commission will make a decision this summer about SDG&E’s plan.
K. Tyler Miller over at the Random Ramblings blog has a link to the multi-engine air tankers under federal contract this year. Check out Tyler’s blog HERE.
Keep in mind that there are numerous air tankers owned outright or under contract with states and local governments. For example, San Diego county is trying to decide if they have enough funds this year to contract for the second year in a row for two of the Canadian CL-415 “Super Scooper” air tankers. And Los Angeles county has a air force that exceeds that of most third world countries.
Fire in Cuba
A 17,000-acre fire is burning in a forest reserve about 70 kilometers north of the city of Camaguey in Cuba (map). Control of the fire is difficult because of drought, low humidity, continuous fuels, and strong winds. The fire started Thursday and has a “12-kilometer (7.5 mile) front”.
NC: Railroad starts numerous fires
A Norfolk Southern train started a trail of fires west of Spencer, North Carolina (map) on Sunday afternoon. Fought by more than 100 firefighters from 14 fire departments in Rowan and Davidson Counties, the fires were the worst in several years according to fire department officials.
Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion. Several houses were threatened but firefighters limited the structural damage to one outbuilding and an abandoned house.
Train traffic on the railroad was stopped as firefighters worked along the tracks and pulled hose across the right of way.
Firefighters had to contend with carcinogens coming off burning piles of old creosote-soaked railroad crossties that had been replaced and abandoned along the tracks by Norfolk Southern, a common practice along many railroad tracks.
Reports about the series of fires did not indicate whether Norfolk Southern will accept liability for the fires and reimburse the land owners and fire departments for the damages and suppression costs.
Railroads frequently get a free pass for starting fires, however many of the fires are preventable through proper maintenance of their equipment. Click on the key word “railroad” at the bottom of this post to see reports of other railroad-caused fires.
Railroad workers started two fires near Milton, Vermont on Tuesday. New England Rail said they were conducting “routine track grinding” when the fires started. Normally this time of the year there is snow on the ground near the tracks, but it has all melted this year.
Milton Assistant Fire Chief Chris Poirier said firefighters put out the fires before they burned more than an acre.
A 500-acre fire in Cameron County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday was also most likely started by a train.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore conducts prescribed fires
Neal Mulconrey prepares a fireline around a planned prescribed fire. Photo: Michael McArdle/Post-Tribune
The Post-Tribune has an article about Indiana Dunes National Lakehore gearing up for their spring prescribed fire season. The reporter most likely mis-quoted a spokesperson from the Lakeshore when he wrote “We’re not professional firefighters”, because the Lakeshore HAS a large contingent of full-time and seasonal professional firefighters, along with a lot of call-when-needed park rangers who are firefighter-qualified.
A USFS contract helicopter works the fire near Old Fort, NC on Tuesday. Photo: Richelle Bailey
Fire officials say it is likely that a train was the cause of multiple fires that began near Old Fort, North Carolina Tuesday afternoon. Four or five fires together burned hundreds of acres by late in the afternoon.
Dozens of firefighters from the state of N.C., the U. S. Forest Service, and volunteer firefighters from several fire departments were working on the fires. Two helicopters from the USFS made numerous water drops.
Three groups of hikers had to be located and removed from the area.
Bill that addresses fire funding introduced again
A bill to fix the way wildland fires are funded was introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate today. Called the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement (FLAME) Act (H.R. 1404), the bill would create a reserve account that the Forest Service and Department of Interior could tap if they exhaust their firefighting budgets. Without this safety net, the agencies have had to take money from other non-fire programs in order to suppress wildfires.
A similar bill died in the last congress, being passed unanimously by the House but stalled in the Senate. The 2008 version of the bill was endorsed by at least 40 conservation and forestry organizations, including the National Association of State Foresters.
More information is HERE.
Esperanza fire penalty phase begins
Raymond Oyler appeared “mentally disoriented”, attorney Thomas Eckhardt told Riverside County Superior Court Judge W. Charles Morgan during a hearing on Monday. “He doesn’t know where he is… he keeps staring at the clock”.
The jury was not present for Monday’s hearing, which was to go over motions, arguments, and witness lists for the penalty hearing which begins today, Tuesday, and is expected to last two weeks. Jurors can recommend the death sentence or life in prison without parole.
The judge said on Monday that he would allow several autopsy photos of the five U.S. Forest Service firefighters who were killed in the fire. Morgan barred the jury from seeing the images during the trial, saying the photos were “the worst photographs I have seen in my career”.
UPDATE, at 2:00 p.m. PT, Tuesday, March 10. From the Press-Enterprise:
Oyler trial halted over medical issue apparently involving Oyler
Testimony in the penalty phase of the Raymond Lee Oyler trial halted abruptly over a medical issue that apparently involves Oyler.
The action took place after a morning of emotional and graphic testimony, including pictures, about the deaths of the five-member crew of U.S. Forest Service Engine 57. Testimony included extinguishing two still-burning bodies, including one with canteens, by the firefighters who discovered them.
Firefighter family members rushed from the courtroom and several jurors were visibly crying.
Court reconvened at 10:40 a.m. after a 20-minute break, and Oyler attorney Thomas K. Eckhardt immediately asked Riverside County Superior Court judge W. Charles Morgan for a chambers conference.
Attorneys emerged 10 minutes later. Morgan called the 8-woman, 4-man jury back into court and dismissed them for the day.
He then instructed his clerk to contact three doctors from an authorized list, seeing if they could set up an examination within 24 to 48 hours. Morgan disclosed nothing about Oyler or the need for the doctors. Attorneys on both sides declined comment.
Morgan then told Oyler case attorneys to return to court at 2:30 today.
Oyler did not stand with his council when jurors entered and departed the room in the late morning session. At one point, he appeared to be muttering to himself.
He was dressed in a light brown shirt and no jacket. During the trial, he had been dressed in the full suit.
UPDATE @ 4:33 PT, Tuesday, March 10
This afternoon the judge ordered an overnight psychological evaluation of Oyler. The doctor’s evaluation is due Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. Jurors will be called back in at 1:30 p.m.
Oklahoma fire training turns into the real thing
Tracy Allen, a McAlester Army Ammunition Plant firefighter, after suppressing a fire in a double-wide trailer. McAlester News photo
Wildfire Today reported yesterday on the wildland fire training in Oklahoma that drew 400 firefighters from 90 departments. During Sunday’s classes, some of the firefighters interrupted their classes to respond to a fire in a double-wide mobile home a mile outside the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, the site of the training.
Here is the way it was reported in the McAlester News-Capital by Mark Hughes, Public Affairs for the Ammunition Plant:
First in the front door of the blazing double-wide were Tracy Allen and Tommy Howard, both seven-year veterans of the ammunition plant’s fire department, handling a one-inch hose.
“We found the structure completely engulfed in smoke with the roof and both sides of the double-wide already on fire,” Howard said.
Not knowing whether the residents were accounted for, Howard broke out a window which was used to to ventilate the smoke filled house, clearing his field of vision so he could look for possible victims.
Unbeknownst to the fire fighters the residents, Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Kifer, were not inside. Earlier that afternoon they were riding their four-wheelers when the fire began.
As his wife was calling 911, Kifer tried to go back in to save personal items but was overcome by smoke. However, their six Chihuahua’s and a Blue Heeler were rescued.
“It’s like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from,” he said, describing the impact of the fire while he stood in a neighbor’s yard watching as ammunition plant firefighters, along with community volunteer firefighters, frantically worked to save the home. In the end, it was a total loss.
Mexican firefighters receive wildland training in Minnnesota
A group of 11 firefighters from the city of Cuernavaca, located 45 minutes southwest of Mexico City, traveled to Bemidji, Minnesota to receive training taught by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The topics covered include fire behavior, weather, tools used in wildland firefighting, pump operation and radio communications.
A Union Pacific train started nine fires along a 5-mile stretch of railroad in the community of Arvada, just west of Denver, Colorado yesterday. A spokesman for the Arvada fire department said multiple witnesses saw sparks from the train start numerous fires along the tracks.
Margery Kusulas, 92, was fortunate that her neighbor Terry Kemp was told about the fire by his daughter Jackie. Kemp ran to the house and searched inside until he found Kusulas and her daughter and warned them. “I was just going to keep charging in there until I found them. I yelled really loud– ‘You just have to get out, get out’ ” Kemp said.
It is unknown at this time if Union Pacific will pay to replace Ms. Kasulas’ home and 100-year old barn.
The Arvada fire department responds to about five fires every year that are started by trains. Wildfire Today has addressed the issue of railroad and train-caused fires before, and the fact that proper maintenance by the railroads can prevent most of them. In fact it was just last week that a brush truck with three firefighters rolled over in Abilene, Texas, injuring all three and damaging their fire truck, while suppressing a railroad-caused fire.
