Unit 9Railroad Fire Case Study

Hutton / Shasta CaseNorthern California

Siskiyou Ranger UnitCalifornia Department of

Forestry and Fire Protection

1995-200147 fires

Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad Fires

Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad Fires

History• 1995 4 fires All carbon caused• 1996 6 fires 3 carbon, 2 spin outs• 1997 7 fires 5 carbon, 1 track spin,

1 railroad car fire• 1998 5 fires All carbon caused• 1999 10 fires All carbon caused• 2000 15 fires 11 carbon, 4 dynamic

brake grid• 2001 1 fire Hutton Fire

carbon caused

CORP Fires & Acres - 1995 - 2000

Year Fire Acres

1995 4 30 (one fire)

1996 6 3

1997 7 35

1998 5 5.5

1999 10 8

2000 15 1218

Mary’s Peak 2000

Cooley #1 2000

Cooley #2 2000

CORP Track

Road

State of California vs. Central Oregon Pacific Railroad (CORP)

Charges: California state law:

1. Unlawfully causing a fire

2. Maintenance of a public nuisance

3. Continuance of a public nuisance after a legal order to abate

4. Negligently causing a fire

5. Burning lands of another

6. Operating machinery in area where burn permits are required

7. Failure to maintain railroad right of way

8. Failure to remove flammable vegetation from RR right of way

9. Failure to maintain a working spark arrester

Hutton FireJune 14, 2001

• 88 degrees• 1717 hours• 11% humidity• Fuels: grass was cured. Vegetation

at origin was in Ponderosa pine litter and duff

Utility poles. Fire origin near left pole

CORP track

Threatened structures

Hutton fire origin

Wind direction

Origin area6’-9’ from outside railOrigin area6’-9’ from outside rail

Sequence of events• Air attack confirmed train at

California/Oregon border

• Command center notified CORP to stop train at next siding at Mt. Ashland Oregon.

• Investigator flagged off the fire origin to provide security of the site.

• Drove to train location

• Made contact with engineer and performed inspection of external exhaust stacks and internal carbon traps

Inspection of locomotives

7 locomotives2 locomotive’s arresters were dirtyAll were in use pulling the hill

7 locomotives2 locomotive’s arresters were dirtyAll were in use pulling the hill

Close up of spark arrester trap cap

Case report preparation

Contact CORP

– Maintenance history of locomotives were retrieved from the mechanical department.

– No event recorder printout was available. They were in process of installing them in the equipment

– Photo or scan of document

CORP on duty locomotive engineer records

• ID of person. Union engineer card. Non photo ID Had their numbers. Didn’t state what company they worked for.

• Keep list of business cards of people you dealt with -- they change a lot!

Agency Records

• ALL Dispatch Records• Fire Reports• Cost reports• Air attack photos• List of contacts made to CORP

Records

• All inspection records for past fire inspections and spot inspections.

• CORP’s Policy on maintenance of locomotives.

Railroad records

• Track profile

• Daily locomotive log located in the locomotive cab

Weather data

Remote Automated Weather Data

Lightning activity record

Elimination of other potential causes

Other reasonably potential causes near origin– Considered– Analyzed– Addressed– Excluded or included– Partially excluded or partially included

Case timeframes

• First week– Case prep – final document

• Meetings with State Prosecutor– Discuss charges– Prepare for deposition and multiple

copies of all documents for discovery

• Assemble full cost package

Taking of depositions

• Occurred fall 2001• Lead investigator spent 28 hours

being deposed

Prepare for court• Provided the Special Prosecutor with all background

information of the case• Provided all investigative records• Curriculum vitae• Used newspaper articles to educate Special Prosecutor

Settlement• CORP plead guilty to three

misdemeanors.• Posted a one million dollar

bond for violations of probation.

• Paid $512,317.46 in fines and suppression costs.

• Paid restitution to any citizen who suffered loss.

• CDF to have input for train operation time during May 1 to November 1 fire season.

• Clearance of 25 feet for one quarter mile each side of each railroad fire that had occurred in Siskiyou County during the last five years.

• CORP to phase in turbo charged locomotives for use in California.

• Provide spark arrester maintenance plan for CORP locomotives.

• Semi annual meetings between CORP and CDF.

• Memorandum of Understanding for purposes of fuel reduction on the railroad right of way.

• CORP to name someone in their management that would be a contact person for CDF.

Lessons learnedLessons learned

Today

• Maintenance program in place• One fire in 2003

– One locomotive was not cleaned properly – isolated case.

– Overall reduction of fires

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