West Hartford firefighters responded to the scene of a fire in one of the cars of a large freight train early Tuesday morning.

The West Hartford Fire Department extinguished a fire in one of the cars of a freight train on Tuesday morning. Photo courtesy of West Hartford Fire Department

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford dispatchers received a call about a fire on a freight train at 2:59 a.m. Tuesday, and were able to safely contain the blaze to just one car, Deputy Chief Eric Munsell said.

While the cause of the fire has not been officially confirmed, according to Munsell the train’s engineer reported that a third engine had just been added to a freight train that had more than 50 cars, and he told West Hartford firefighters that he noticed it sparking a bit.

That engine was in the front of the train and the next car – where the blaze occurred – was an open car transporting construction debris, Munsell said. The train was headed north, toward Hartford, on the tracks that run alongside New Park Avenue and the CTfastrak, north of New Britain Avenue.

According to fire officials, the train engineer called ahead to West Hartford and was able to safely bring the train to a stop where the tracks cross Oakwood Avenue, just east of New Park Avenue, where it was accessible to firefighters.

The first unit arrived approximately five minutes after the call, Munsell said, and crews were able to use a ladder pipe and an additional hand line to extinguish the blaze – which he compared to a “dumpster fire on wheels.” There had been some concern about spread to the next car, but crews managed to knock down the fire by 3:21 a.m., and keep it contained to just the one car.

“There were no injuries, and no exposure issues,” Munsell said. Traffic was impacted for a short period of time, and both Amtrak and CTfastrak were also notified to keep trains and buses out of the area.

The Fire Marshal’s Office came to the scene for an investigation before the train was able to safely depart the area.

The West Hartford Fire Department extinguished a fire in one of the cars of a freight train on Tuesday morning. Photo courtesy of West Hartford Fire Department

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