BEECH GROVE, Ind. — Two structures at Amtrak’s Beech Grove Heavy Maintenance Facility, used to store paint and cleaning supplies, were destroyed by an early morning fire on Sunday. WTHR-TV reports firefighters were called just after 12:30 a.m. and found no working fire hydrant inside the facility, forcing them to run hose lines from Emerson Avenue and use tankers to supply water. Eventually, the two corrugated structures collapsed. The fire was controlled by 2 a.m. No injuries were reported. Indianapolis Fire Department video of the incident is available here.
An Amtrak spokesman characterized the two buildings as storage sheds, and said no rail equipment was damaged and that the fire will have no impact on production at the shop. He also reports that while the hydrant nearest the fire was dry, others on the site were operable. The cause is under investigation.
— Updated at 7:30 p.m. to correct time fire was controlled. Updated Monday at 9:30 a.m. CDT with additional details from Amtrak.
At Least there were no injuries, and that Phase 3 P40 822 wasn’t harmed.
probably time to inspect all fire systems located at the shops. This should be a time for ALL railroad repair shops to review their protocol for storage of flammables and emergency contingencies. Sorry this happened.
James, I agree. All hydrants should be checked periodically. But then again, look at Amtrak’s safety record across the board.
No working fire hydrants? Someone failed to perform a proper safety inspection.