Firefighters Battle Train Engine Fire Near State Line

November 22, 2013

Firefighters from Alabama and Florida battled a train engine fire Friday afternoon near the state line.

The CSX locomotive caught fire near Welka Road just outside Flomaton. Flames were shooting several feet into the air over the engine, which was still attached to freight cars. None of the train cars were on fire or immediately threatened by the engine fire. The train cars did not contain any hazardous materials, and the fire was not posing any threat to the public.

CSX officials were on scene with firefighters dispatched from Flomaton, Friendship, McCall, Barnett Crossroads, Century, McDavid and other departments. Preliminary information indicated there was abut 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel on the locomotive, and CSX  devised a plan to turn off the fuel supply and extinguish the fire.

The Flomaton Police Department, Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office, Alabama State Troopers, Escambia County (AL) Emergency Management and Escambia County (FL) EMS were also among the responding agencies.

The fire was declared out by about 3:25 p.m.  No injuries were reported in the incident.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

9 Responses to “Firefighters Battle Train Engine Fire Near State Line”

  1. Dennis on November 24th, 2013 7:25 am

    If it was a undercover cop for all of the mentioned reasons then why was he rushing to a train fire-just wondering???? Not so undercover anymore????

  2. flguy on November 23rd, 2013 8:15 pm

    There are many unmarked police vehicles that use standard tags, kind of hard to blend in with govt tags. very well could of been a CSX police officer also

  3. SHO-NUFF on November 23rd, 2013 7:30 pm

    @ WarEagle 007

    “The tag on this truck was an ordinary citizen’s tag, not a state or county tag. I’m curious because if a vehicle of that description attempted to pull me over for a traffic stop, I would not stop!”

    Nor would you be expected to.
    Escambia County Sheriffs departments, both Florida and Alabama, have several unmarked cars and trucks, with plates from various States so they blend in.
    These vehicles are almost exclusively driven by investigators or undercover officers that work drug enforcement. They are equipped with hidden Blue lights and Sirens so they can quickly respond to an emergency or back up an Officer requesting assistance. They don’t work traffic, and it would be rare for one to stop you unless you were doing something to cause great danger to others.

    You don’t have to stop for an unmarked car if you feel unsafe or unsure if the person is actually legit. Continue to drive at a safe speed to a public parking lot at a busy store and request the unmarked to call a uniformed officer with a marked cruiser.

    The Highway Patrol is running unmarked cars with regular plates also.

  4. SHO-NUFF on November 23rd, 2013 7:07 pm

    @ Walnut Hill Roy,
    The oil seal in the turbo failed allowing oil to be sucked into the engine acting as fuel. The engine then runs away and cannot effectively be controlled or shut down. Considering most Locomotive engines hold around 400 gallons of oil, it can continue to run for quite sometime. The exhaust temps increase due to the uncontrolled amount of oil being burned. Trains are equipped with large CO2 fire extinguisher systems that discharge into the engines intake in this event, but not always effective.

  5. 911 on November 23rd, 2013 2:54 pm

    You all should not worry about what police and fire fighters are doing with there lights on. They are going to a call to save or assist someone that called 911. If you were the person calling 911 for help you would want them to come save you as fast as they could and you would not be worried about who has red or blue lights or how fast they were going when your life is on the line. Just saying

  6. Roll Tide on November 23rd, 2013 9:53 am

    @WarEae007 “The truck had blue lights everywhere on the inside and they were on. This vehicle, traveling at a dangerous rate of speed” “are firemen allowed to use blue lights now instead of red lights when traveling to fires?” No fireman in Alabama can not use Blue lights, it is even illegal in Alabama for they to use red lights in a personal vehicle.

    That truck you saw was with the Escambia County Alabama Sheriffs Dept. As far as the tag I’ve even seen them use a out of state tag!!! And I thought they were to uphold the law, not break the Law!!! How can that be legal???

  7. Walnut Hill Roy on November 23rd, 2013 8:03 am

    I thank sho-nuff for the explanation, I was wondering what could have caused the diesel fire. Doesn’t the engineer have a gauge for exhaust temperature or a warning light? Pulling a high load, especially uphill will normally cause the exhaust temperature to rise

  8. WarEagle007 on November 23rd, 2013 4:47 am

    I was on my way home from Brewton when a private citizens truck flew up behind me and passed while I was heading south on highway 31. The truck had blue lights everywhere on the inside and they were on. This vehicle, traveling at a dangerous rate of speed, turned left onto Welka road. My question is this; are firemen allowed to use blue lights now instead of red lights when traveling to fires? The tag on this truck was an ordinary citizen’s tag, not a state or county tag. I’m curious because if a vehicle of that description attempted to pull me over for a traffic stop, I would not stop!

  9. SHO-NUFF on November 23rd, 2013 1:15 am

    Not really as bad as it looks…

    Turbocharger failure, where the engine lubricating oil becomes the fuel source and the engine either consumes all the oil or seizes. A lot of smoke, then flames after the exhaust temperatures exceed the flash point of the engine oil and ignites.
    Harmless and contained other than soot from the exhaust possibly setting the woods on fire.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News