(The following report appeared on the Paducah Sun website on August 19.)
PADUCAH, Ky. — Firefighters had plenty of water Saturday to extinguish about 50 burning crossties along the tracks of the Canadian National Illinois Central Railroad bridge over the Ohio River. The problem was lugging the water close enough to douse the flames high over the river.
The fire was contained to the first steel span near the first pier on the Kentucky side. Flames were about 150 yards from land and approximately 100 feet above the river’s surface, creating several challenges for the firefighters, West McCracken Fire Chief Donald Elrod said. The bridge connects Paducah and Metropolis, Ill., and crosses the river near Metropolis Ferry Landing Road in Paducah and Harrah’s Metropolis Casino in Illinois.
Firefighters also had to battle two sources of heat — from the flames and from the sizzling August sun that pushed the thermometer past 90 degrees. A fierce wind also fanned the bright orange flames along the trestle.
West McCracken and Concord firefighters resorted to methods similar to fighting field fires, Elrod said. They strapped five-gallon water tanks on their backs and were shuttled from a Noble Road staging area to the fire on a Canadian National vehicle modified to run on railroad tracks.
“It is difficult to get any resources over the river,” Elrod said. “It was called into us as a brush fire, and it was the brush fire equipment that we used to extinguish it. But the wind really had an effect out there. We also wanted to keep everyone cool and safe.”
The five-gallon tanks emptied quickly, forcing firefighters to make numerous trips back to the staging area for refills. Firefighters also were equipped with extinguishers that shot flame-smothering foam. Stuffed in their jacket pockets were several bottles of drinking water to ward off dehydration.
Concord Chief Bob McGowan, who coordinated the staging area, said the foam helped the backpacks’ limited water supply last longer.
“The firefighters would knock down the flames and when they’d run out of water, the fire would kick back up,” McGowan said.
Firefighters used chain saws to cut off several burning crossties in an effort to contain the fire, Elrod said.
On the Illinois side of the fire, Metropolis firefighters used a pressure washer attached to a tanker truck, Elrod said.
Dense black smoke rolling off the bridge could be seen from several miles away, while smoldering debris could be seen dropping from the bridge and into the river.
The cause of the fire had not been determined. Elrod and other firefighters speculated that a spark from a coal train that traveled across Saturday morning may have ignited some crossties that are covered in creosote to prevent rotting.
The bridge remained closed Saturday. Efforts to contact Canadian National for comment were not successful Saturday.
The blaze also become a working lesson in how to battle a bridge fire over the river, Elrod’s first in 46 years as a firefighter.
“We’ve fought several train fires, and the railroad brings the train to Noble Road and we fight it there,” Elrod said. “But you can’t move the bridge. There were a lot of lessons learned today in working over the river and water safety.”
East Marshall Fire Department firefighters drove their fire boat on a trailer to Metropolis and launched from Fort Massac State Park. However, water from the boat’s fire hose could not reach the burning span because of the low river level. Firefighters on the bridge were attempting to lower several sections of fire hose to the boat when the fire was brought under control about 2 p.m., Elrod said. It was extinguished at 3:04 p.m.
The Paducah fire barge remained on standby, but a several-hour wait at Brookport Lock and Dam 52 would have delayed its response.
No injuries were reported.