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CSX locomotive damaged by early morning fire in Williamsburg
Posted On 02 Jul 2009
For more information and photos see next Wedneday’s print edition of the News Journal.
An early morning fire Thursday caused moderate damage to railroad locomotive.
Williamsburg Fire Chief James Privett said Williamsburg police noticed the burning locomotive and reported it to firefighters about 5:44 a.m.
One fire truck and 14 men responded to the transfer station off George Hays Road where they parked the truck and ran fire hose through over 200 feet of forest to get to the locomotive.
"Upon arrival, the engine was fully engulfed in flames. The brake lines to it had been burnt in two, and there was fire coming out of the fluid on them," he said. "Underneath all that, we had a tank that had 300 gallons of diesel fuel in it."
The fire proved easier to extinguish than getting to the locomotive and then into it to fight the blaze, Privett added.
"The biggest portion of the time was actually getting in to it. It was a very hot fire. It did a lot of damage to the metal and stuff on the train. It was actually peeling the paint up," he said.
"This is really something that could have turned into something a lot more difficult. Had the tank erupted, we would have had 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel on the ground and we would have gotten into a major detail."
No one was injured battling the blaze.
Firefighters were on scene for about an hour and a half.
Privett said that he’s not sure exactly what caused the fire, but that it appears to have been mechanical in nature.
"It was a good job by the firemen. Everybody came together well with the situation we had, which was very difficult to get to," he added.
The Williamsburg Police Department and Whitley County Emergency Management assisted at the scene.
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Does CSX still stop their engines near the depot and let them idle on night long? I remember when I lived near there; that put out a significant amount of air pollution in a residential area.
Does CSX still stop their engines near the depot and let them idle on night long? I remember when I lived near there; that put out a significant amount of air pollution in a residential area.
You are right elizabeth you should get the credit. I would call the newspaper and tell them about it.
It is really no big deal but when a citizen takes it upon themselves to report something then they should at least get some credit for reporting it…not let the police department take whole credit…my 911 call about the train on fire went in to dispatch at 5:29.57 on my cell phone and at that time they had no clue about the train…like i said, it really isn’t a big deal but I don’t think that the police department should get whole credit for reporting it, especially if they didn’t report it till 5:44…what went on during the 15 mins. from where it passed over the underpass beside briar creek park, when and where my call went in, till it stopped at savoy?