Calls for answers at what time train on fire rolls through downtown London, Ont.
Fire crews thanked witnesses who arranged 911 after seeing a Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway (CPKCR) exclaim barrelling toward downtown London, Ont., late Sunday night, flames shooting high into the night sky.
No one was hurt at what time wooden railway ties inside five train cars caught fire and the exclaim eventually came to a stop in the area of Richmond Street and Pall Mall Street, a residential section, at around 10:49 p.m. ET.
Train cars carrying dangerous goods and risky materials were split and moved away from the cars on fire, said London Fire platoon original Colin Shewell.
The railway ties had been picked up from outside London, in the Strathroy area, said Shewell. Somewhere between Strathroy and London, they ignited, although it's not yet known how.
People in London woke up to multiple videos of the exclaim on fire and heading east through the city. It took fire crews approximately an hour and a half to put the fire out and latest few hours to ensure nothing else was smouldering, Shewell said.
There are many questions approximately the incident, including:
- When did the train crew leer the fire on board and why didn't they call 911?
- Why did the exclaim stop where it did, in the middle of a dignified neighbourhood just west of a shunting yard?
- How did the railway ties, coated in flammable wood preservative creosote, catch fire?
- Did the fire spread from one car to the others, or did all five catch fire at once?
The exclaim was travelling on the tracks owned by CPKCR and eventually caused to a halt in front of an office creation and an apartment complex. Crews were able to disconnect the locomotives so firefighters could put out the fire.
The matter sent a two-sentence statement to CBC News in response to a inquire for an interview.
"The incident remains under investigation. We thank the London advantageous responders for their effective response to the fire last night," CPKCR spokesperson Terry Cunha wrote in an email.
It's unlikely that sparks from the exclaim wheels caused the blaze, said rail consultant Malcolm Cairns, who used to work for Canadian Pacific Railway.
"The Transportation Guarantee Board [TSB] will have their review of this incident and they will go into mammoth depth, taking witness statements and looking at all the evidence, and eventually you'll know what caused it and whether the principles were obeyed," Cairns said.
There are rules about where cars with risky materials can be located and how far they have to be from latest cars, he added. "The chances of a fire spreading five or 10 car lengths is not liable. That would be a devastating catastrophe."
The train was eventually presumed to its rail yard, located between Adelaide and Quebec streets, where firefighters continued to work to put out smouldering material, Shewell said.
"We will treat everything as arson pending proven otherwise," said Shewell. "These were scrap railway ties, so there's really no bucks value on them. They were actually destined to be destroyed."
The investigation is in the aesthetic of Canadian Pacific's own police oversight body, he said, as well as the TSB.
Damage is estimated at $25,000 to rail cars and $10,000 to the office creation used by Drewlo Holdings.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and Kansas City Southern Railway Co. merged last year at what time a U.S. regulator approved the $31-billion US deal.
