Firefighters Brave Explosions to Put Out Train Yard Fire in Ferndale
(Crystal A. Proxmire, July 1, 2020)
Ferndale, MI – Ferndale and Hazel Park firefighters braved a dangerous situation Wednesday morning when they responded to a fire in the Canadian National rail yard at 8 Mile and Fair Streets in Ferndale.
A giant hydraulic forklift, used for moving shipping containers onto rail cars and sem-trucks, caught fire just before 10 am.
The cause is not officially known pending investigation, but Fire Chief Jack Pesha speculates it was started with a broken hydraulic pump on the machine. “This is an enormous piece of equipment, like a $600,000 truck that does this heavy, specific work,” he said.
Because of the location of the fire, first responders had to climb across train cars to get into proper position. “It was a hot morning,” Pesha said.
As firefighters neared, there were two explosions. Pesha said one was likely a hydraulic cylinder exploding. The other was one of the giant tractor tires.
“When that happened, it knocked a 250 lb steel fender off the forklift and sent it flying. It flew about 100 feet. If that had hit anyone it would have been all over.
“There was all this dirt and debris with it. Nuts and bolts were flying everywhere. The explosion knocked some of our guys down. We’re so lucky no one got hurt,” Pesha said.
Beyond the equipment itself, the only damage was some discoloration of the paint on nearby shipping containers.
The fire sent plumes of smoke into the air, and traffic was delayed on 8 Mile as firefighters responded to the scene.
Because the fire happened on railroad property, the investigation will happen internally by Canadian National.