(The following story by Kelly Sinoski appeared on the Vancouver Sun website on July 8.)
VANCOUVER, B.C. — A CN train engineer was taken to hospital to be treated for gas inhalation after a freight train caught fire on the tracks Saturday night.
Surrey fire battalian chief Gerry Wilson said the train was heading from North Vancouver when fire broke out in 10 rail cars at 7:20 p.m. The train was forced to stop at the Surrey rail yard.
The train wasn’t carrying any cargo at the time, but there was sulphur residue in the cars. The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, but Wilson said it may have been started by sparks shooting from the engine exhaust of a passing train, which was carrying a full load up a hill.
About 14 firefighters attended the fire, which took about two hours to extinguish.
It’s believed about four people were treated for gas inhalation, with one engineer taken to hospital and released.