Derailment in Westford Ma 2-20-14

deathtopumpkins wrote:Now if she had checked in with the railroad and asked to see the scene, they may well have let her.

Engineer Spike wrote:The chief might have been more welcome if he had called Billerica and said that he was going on site, and wanted to speak with whomever was in charge, at the derailment.

Based on your responses, I take it you believe that the town manager was lying when she said the following:

WCVB wrote:"We were not notified by Pan Am at all," Westford Town Manager Jodi Ross said. "My fire chief stumbled upon the derailment."

"We called our contacts at Pan Am, and there was no answer, so I walked down the tracks to find the general manager," Ross said.

Railroad managers who refused to talk with reporters wouldn't talk to the town manager, either.

KEN PATRICK wrote:engineer spike et al. i can't imagine any pas move in a derailment area that could threaten anyone. in fact it calls to mind the old erie joke-' man laid down on the tracks to commit suicide, he starved to death.' most of the posts here and in the new england thread seem to excuse the railroad's behavoir which, as i have posted, was bizarre. there was no danger to the town manager.unfortunately, we now have a situation that will percolate for some time. ken patrick

You've evidently never been involved in a derailment cleanup.

The classic phrase "What we have here is a failure to communicate" comes to mind...

JoeF

Engineer Spike wrote:The fire chief may have been within his rights. On the other hand, I think that no non railroader should walk unescorted onto the property. They ( town manager and fire chief) might not know to always expect a movement. They could think that no movement would come because of the line blockage, due to the derailment. Next they get run over by the wreck train. Guilford then would be dragged into civil court.

The chief might have been more welcome if he had called Billerica and said that he was going on site, and wanted to speak with whomever was in charge, at the derailment. That way he could be consulted, yet his safety would be secure.

Again, the fire chief did not need a welcome as he was in charge, he had statutory authority to be anywhere he chose on that wreck site, and he could have ordered those cars offloaded any time he wanted. The chief is well aware of what to expect on the tracks, the idea that the wreck train might accidentally have run him over is ridiculous and I am embarrassed for you for having used it as an excuse. You write as if they were on the mainline of the Northeast Corridor.

newpylong wrote:You've evidently never been involved in a derailment cleanup.

And you most DEFINITELY have never had to risk your life for stupid people doing stupid things.

TPR37777 wrote:

Engineer Spike wrote:The fire chief may have been within his rights. On the other hand, I think that no non railroader should walk unescorted onto the property. They ( town manager and fire chief) might not know to always expect a movement. They could think that no movement would come because of the line blockage, due to the derailment. Next they get run over by the wreck train. Guilford then would be dragged into civil court.

The chief might have been more welcome if he had called Billerica and said that he was going on site, and wanted to speak with whomever was in charge, at the derailment. That way he could be consulted, yet his safety would be secure.

Again, the fire chief did not need a welcome as he was in charge, he had statutory authority to be anywhere he chose on that wreck site, and he could have ordered those cars offloaded any time he wanted. The chief is well aware of what to expect on the tracks, the idea that the wreck train might accidentally have run him over is ridiculous and I am embarrassed for you for having used it as an excuse. You write as if they were on the mainline of the Northeast Corridor.

newpylong wrote:You've evidently never been involved in a derailment cleanup.

And you most DEFINITELY have never had to risk your life for stupid people doing stupid things.

You may well be correct, but please provide a cite to the federal statute that grants the chief his authority to order offloading, etc. I suspect that state authority has been fully pre-emptied by federal law in this regard so state statutes do not apply.

We have been over this so many times it pains me to repeat so much of it. Chase, Maryland 1987 Conrail engineer Ricky Gates ran two engines during a light move through an interlocking against signals and into the path of an Amtrak Northeast Regional. He was subsequently charged with manslaughter under Maryland law and served time in a Maryland state prison. Look it up, the last poster didn't like Wikipedia so I would suggest the FRA website, or any of a thousand other sources on the wreck. Do you get the significance of his conviction? He wasn't charged with any federal crimes, he was charged and convicted under Maryland law. He was operating a locomotive on the NEC, a Conrail locomotive no less, and the laws of the State of Maryland were still in full force and effect. Get it? I don't have to cite a federal statute that grants anyone anything, Massachusetts law applies to the private property of Pan Am because states can not REGULATE interstate commerce, all other state laws still apply. Did you really say "pre-emptied"? Who do you think levied the largest corporate fine in state history against PAR for the Ayer spill? That was a state fine by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Where was the federal preemption there? Don't think for a minute PAR didn't try and argue that when they lost at superior court. Now that we have established that state laws still cover railroad property, you can spend the rest of the night reading the Mass General Law chapter 48 which dictates most of the powers afforded to fire departments. You will especially like section 27. Don't let the archaic references to fire wardens and foresters bother you, nomenclature has changed over the years but the authority the statutes grant has not.

From the Lowell Sun:

Lowell Sun wrote:Due to too many requests from the public to attend today's meeting set between town officials and Pan Am company representatives, Town Manager Jodi Ross said the meeting would be closed to residents and members of the media.
. . .
The Feb. 19 episode resulted in an outpouring of questions from Ross and other town authorities, including why officials were never notified of the situation until Fire Chief Joe Targ happened to drive by 12 hours later. They questioned Pan Am's transparency and seeming lack of concern for public safety. Though Ross initially said members of the media would be allowed to sit in on Tuesday's meeting, to be held at 3 p.m. inside Town Hall, she said she felt like the meeting was "spinning bigger" than intended. She said too many media outlets, including rail publications, requested to be in the meeting, in addition to other members of the public. She said she had to choose to make it a closed-door session.
. . .
Ross added in an interview she spoke with town counsel and said with less than a majority of selectmen present at Tuesday's meeting, closing the door will not constitute an Open Meeting Law violation.
. . .
Ross promised to summarize the discussion following the meeting, and to release all information related to what goes on in the private session.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadline ... alk-pan-am" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

David Fink has apologized for Pan AM concerning the handling of the derailment incident at a meeting with town and other government officials. From the Lowell Sun-

WESTFORD -- Town Manager Jodi Ross said she was happy to hear in a private meeting with Pan Am Railways representatives on Tuesday President David Fink apologize for how communication was handled following a local train derailment in February.

Ross and Selectmen Chairwoman Andrea Peraner-Sweet said those words signaled progress between the two entities.

"Mr. Fink apologized for how our town officials were treated that day out at the site, and recognized that that indeed was an issue," Peraner-Sweet said.

Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_25713 ... z314HObRxt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;











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