Major fires along the RR in southern Maine 05-08-2014

From The Portland Press Herald:

The Portland Press Herald wrote:Emergency crews are responding to a series of brush and grass fires along railroad tracks near Winnocks Neck Road in Old Orchard Beach, and one has spread to Wagon Wheel RV Resort and Campground on Old Orchard Road.

Witnesses said several propane tanks exploded at the campground. Ten trailers were destroyed and six others were damaged, according to Old Orchard Beach Fire Chief John Glass. Glass said all the structures were believed to be unoccupied.

The situation prompted Old Orchard Beach officials to sound five alarms, summoning help from more than 20 communities.

A Maine Forest Service helicopter dropped water to help extinguish the fires burning along the railroad tracks.
. . .
Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, said an Amtrak Downeaster train passed through Old Orchard Beach around 1 p.m., but was not connected to the fires.
. . .
Cynthia Scarano, executive vice president of Pan Am Railways, which owns the tracks, said a single locomotive was following the Downeaster and has been stopped near Portland. She said officials are on their way to investigate the train to determine if it sparked the fires.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.pressherald.com/news/Crews_o ... each_.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Video from WMTW-8:

http://www.wmtw.com/news/Crews-battle-t ... h/25883350" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It has also been reported that smaller trackside fires have been spotted from Biddeford all the way to Scarborough.

Video from WCSH-6:

http://www.wcsh6.com/story/news/local/2 ... 8/8855023/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Aerial photo of the fires:

https://twitter.com/NewsProJoe/status/4 ... 9006088192" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Updates from The Portland Press Herald:

The Portland Press Herald wrote:Capt. Chris West of the Saco Fire Department said the brush fires broke out near an elementary school in his city and spread rapidly. West and other fire officials suspect the fire was caused by a locomotive that was pulling a freight train.
. . .
Some of the trailers in the campground, packed close together near the tracks, caught fire and their propane tanks exploded.

“Once one or two of the tanks exploded, that started to spread the fire,” Glass said.
. . .
Glass said witnesses reported seeing sparks coming from the bottom of a freight train. He did not know if the brakes were locked or whether there was any other malfunction.
. . .
David Nappi was sitting outside his condominium at Olde Salt Village at 1:20 p.m. when he saw the train pass and, moments later, smoke wafting from the trails where he walks his dachshund.

He was the first caller to report the fire to 911, he said, and was kept on the phone for what seemed like minutes as he was transferred to the right agency.

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From the Bangor Daily News:

Bangor Daily News wrote:Maine forest rangers and local fire chiefs returned Friday morning to railroad tracks stretching from Scarborough to Biddeford to continue searching for the cause of a string of fires that ignited along the tracks Thursday afternoon.
. . .
A Maine forest ranger visited Dover, New Hampshire, on Thursday night to inspect the freight train that traveled through the area.

“That inspection came back and the locomotive was cleared,” Pan Am Railways Executive Vice President Cynthia Scarano said Friday. “The locomotive was fine and the [smoke] stacks were clean.”
. . .
On Thursday, Old Orchard Beach Fire Chief John Glass told the Bangor Daily News, “We’ve had some reports that one of the freight trains that came through town was throwing out sparks from beneath it. I don’t know if that was because the brakes were locked up or there was a malfunction or what the reason was, but there were a lot of sparks coming off one the freight trains and some of the cars, and that’s what started the little spot fires. It’s my understanding that it went from South Portland all the way to just about Biddeford.”

Read the rest of the article at: http://bangordailynews.com/2014/05/09/n ... in-tracks/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More updates from The Portland Press Herald:

The Portland Press Herald wrote:Ranger John Leavitt, of the Maine Forest Service, confirmed that inspectors checked out the freight train, but said that the investigation is still underway.

The freight train, designated DO1, is a local delivery train that carried goods from Rigby Yard in South Portland to Dover, New Hampshire, Scarano said. It had about 50 cars and was loaded with frozen fish, steel, plywood and other wood products.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.pressherald.com/news/Inspect ... ction.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One locomotive, 50 cars. Must have been in Run #8
for a long periord. That will blow the hot carbon out
into the dry brush along the line....

If the witnesses reported sparks coming from beneath the train, why would they just focus on the locomotive? Wouldn't a bad bearing or stuck brake shoe on one of the freight cars be more likely? I have spent my fair share of time along railroad tracks and brake shoes are not uncommon to see alongside the rails.

Disregard, I just noticed in the second article they were checking brake shoes. Do traction motors give off sparks when they start to go?

TPR37777 wrote:Disregard, I just noticed in the second article they were checking brake shoes. Do traction motors give off sparks when they start to go?

Yes they do.......see video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQAGWo3PbZk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

From The Portland Press Herald:

The Portland Press Herald wrote:Maine Forest Service rangers spent Friday walking the railroad tracks from Biddeford to Scarborough, searching for evidence that a train sparked a 3-mile swath of fires that ignited hundreds of discarded railroad ties, threatened dozens of homes and destroyed part of a campground.
. . .
The Federal Railroad Administration has also joined the inquiry. It said in an email Friday that it is working to determine whether either train was involved in sparking the fires.
. . .
Residents who live along the tracks in the area say they are angry at the railroad for leaving old and broken railroad ties, soaked in creosote preservative, along the track bed. Those ties helped feed many of the fires. Some were still smoldering Friday, despite a light rain.
. . .
“There was a God-awful squealing sound – metal on metal,” said Sholes, who said he hears trains several times a day and sleeps through them at night. “You could smell the smoke out here and then it was raining fire. ... Wherever you looked, there were burning leaves in the air. I thought they opened the gates of hell. That’s what it looked like.”

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I camped there in the late 90's for a few years up until 2000. These trailers that burned have to be in a newly expanded portion or something of the like, because the campground road runs along the entire border with the tracks. The closest thing to them were tents and the campground snackbar. In that case, it had to have really been "raining fire". I remember there used to be a massive pile of ties just to the right of where I usually stood, knowing Pan-Am, they'd probably still be there a dozen years later.

Thanks to Derek Carpine, here's a video of the trackside fire damage. Note all the old ties on the ground that helped fuel the flames.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5DstH2t ... uf8ao5RE3A" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;