DCNR investigating train track brush fires
Passing trains have caused at least three brush fires in Center Township since 2018, and the most recent incident on April 8 burned more than 26 acres along about six miles of tracks.
After the most recent fire, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources attempted to contact the railroad companies whose trains travel those tracks. Not only is the cause of the fire in question, but which railroad company's equipment potentially caused the fire as well.
“That fire is still under investigation,” said Zach St. Laurent, fire forester with the DCNR.
“We're trying to make contact with the right railroad to figure out what's going on.”
St. Laurent said fires along railroad tracks occur for multiple reasons, including a train's brakes grinding the rails and carbon emissions coming from its tailpipe. He said there could be a reason that two fires occurred in less than a month in a similar area in Center Township, but the DCNR is not yet sure what it is.
He also said the damage caused by the train fires is difficult to estimate precisely.
In addition to investigating the cause of the fires, St. Laurent said the DCNR is looking for financial aid for the fire departments. Sixteen departments responded to the multiple fires that sparked April 8.
“Ideally, we would like the fire departments that donate their time to get reimbursed for their activities,” St. Laurent said. “It's an all-hands-on-deck situation, and our volunteers are stretched thin as it is.”
St. Laurent said that although the fires so far have just burned brush and woods, some nearby residents have become concerned due to the proximity of the fires to their properties.
“A fire came very close to burning a woman's residence,” St. Laurent said. “So, we're doing what we can to try to help the situation.”
