CHESTER, Va. — Several brush fires erupted along a tree line in Chester just off Route 1 on Wednesday evening, with flames spanning dozens of feet near railroad tracks.
Local News
Crews respond to series of small brush fires near train tracks in Chester
Despite recent rainfall in the area, Chesterfield Fire and EMS officials say conditions were still favorable for fires to ignite and spread quickly.
"The end of March, April, we especially have days where the fronts come through. We have some days where the wind is high, and even though people think we just had a lot of rain, that wind really dries out the top layer of the forest floor," said Deputy Fire Marshal Joe Harvey with Chesterfield Fire.
Harvey explained that the likely cause of the fire was a passing train. According to officials, the train had passed through the area approximately 10 minutes before the first emergency calls were received.
"Talking to the engineer, the train was going into a sweeping curve. They have to apply their brakes in that area, and whether it was a mechanical problem or something of that nature, we believe based on the fact that there were multiple spot fires that there was something coming off the train that kicked over and ignited the dry brush on the side of the railroad," Harvey said.
Fire crews tackled about five different spot-fires within the larger brushfire. The terrain presented challenges for firefighters.
"You have hills along the side of the railroad tracks, where once the fuel begins burning down by the railroad tracks, the heat rises, and it actually preheats the fuel along the hillside, and once it reaches its ignition temperature, it just allows it to travel rapidly," Harvey explained.
Despite difficult access to the flames, Chesterfield Fire was able to bring the fire under control within several hours, reopening the train tracks by midnight.
Harvey noted that while some brushfires happen by chance, there are preventative measures people can take during windy conditions to reduce fire risks.
"It could be an unsecured chain bouncing on the roadway which creates sparks. It could even be a bad wheel bearing on a trailer or a vehicle traveling down the road," Harvey said. "Some of these things just happen, but I think with a little preventative measures to make sure that we're doing things properly, we can potentially prevent some of these."
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