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Re: Grass fires caused by trains
Author: Tom McCann
Date: 01-15-2009 - 11:44
About eight years ago, City of Portland had to deal with a rail-caused brush fire that grew to five alarms and threatened the St. Johns section of NW Portland.
A UP switch movement on the St. Johns Industrial Lead, which winds around the bottom of the bluffs northwest of Albina Yard, started a brush fire which burned up the steep sides of the bluffs and was coming close to the neighborhoods around the University of Portland campus.
The Portland Fire Bureau response went to multiple alarms within 15 minutes, and fire crews were spread throughout the affected streets. Many of the homeowners along the bluffs were out in their backyards with garden hoses, trying to spray down the fire until the fire crews arrived, and even pitched in to help the crews move their fire hoses once they got there.
Despite the widespread fire and the hot, dry conditions, the combination of fire crews and homeowners prevented the blaze from getting into the neighborhoods, although it came close in spots.
A UP switch movement on the St. Johns Industrial Lead, which winds around the bottom of the bluffs northwest of Albina Yard, started a brush fire which burned up the steep sides of the bluffs and was coming close to the neighborhoods around the University of Portland campus.
The Portland Fire Bureau response went to multiple alarms within 15 minutes, and fire crews were spread throughout the affected streets. Many of the homeowners along the bluffs were out in their backyards with garden hoses, trying to spray down the fire until the fire crews arrived, and even pitched in to help the crews move their fire hoses once they got there.
Despite the widespread fire and the hot, dry conditions, the combination of fire crews and homeowners prevented the blaze from getting into the neighborhoods, although it came close in spots.
