Train sparks brush fires

By Dan Hilborn
Published April 30, 2005


A CP Rail train spewing sparks gave Burnaby firefighters one of their toughest assignments of the year, when they were forced to carry buckets and hike through the underbrush to extinguish a series of brush fires near the Riverway golf course on Wednesday night.

"We must have had 35 guys out there," chief fire prevention officer Fred Scarfe said about the three-alarm blaze that was first reported at about 6:40 p.m.

The problem apparently started when a westbound train began emitting sparks, igniting a series of small fires along the train tracks that run parallel to Marine Way and the Riverway golf course.

In addition to using a bucket brigade, Burnaby firefighters had to call for help from both Vancouver and New Westminster to help stamp out the fires that were intermittently spread across the 5.5- km stretch of railway track in South Burnaby.

Ed Greenberg, a spokesperson at the Calgary offices of CP Rail, said the locomotive in question was immediately pulled out of service and an initial inspection found no evidence of mechanical failure.

"It would be premature at this time to suggest it was a hotbox problem," said Greenberg, referring to what can happen when a train's metal wheels don't get enough lubricant and begin to grind against the metal tracks.

"We found no evidence of mechanical failure and no indication that the spark arrester in the locomotive failed," he said. "But saying that, we respect the fact that this was a very serious situation and there were reports our locomotive was sparking. So we're continuing to do a further inspection to see if there was any malfunction on board."

Greenberg said the company still has to review and analyze the data from the train's black box recorder, however, he noted CP Rail does regular inspections on all its trains, uses spark arresters to prevent fires and installs high grade brake shoes on its trains to eliminate or reduce the possibility of sparks.

Hal Eremko, head golf pro at Riverway, said the fire forced punters off the four holes closest to the railway tracks, however, most of the golfers took the inconvenience in stride.

"The impact on the golf course was a heck of a lot less than it could have been due to the fast action of our fire department," Eremko said. "They were on it right away, making sure people were safe."

Eremko also heaped praise on those golfers who helped fight the fires. "It was neat to hear and see some of the stories of our patrons doing their bit to help out. We actually had one person run our with a fire extinguisher from the pro shop.

"But you really have to thank the fire department for really coming in and taking control and making sure it didn't get out of hand."

Scarfe said firefighters were on scene until after 2 a.m., and then returned the following morning to ensure they that all of the small fires were extinguished.