Steam & Excursion > CATS fire safety

Question:
Does anyone know whether the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic changed their fire safety procedures after the Lobato bridge fire?
Two specific questions:
Did they apply "non-flam" or other fire retardants to the open deck bridges (as is done on major RRs)?
Did they set the "fire patrol" motor car back so it follows the train an an interval of maybe 10-15 minutes instead of right behind the train?
IIRC the fire at Lobato was attributed to an ember from a brake shoe or the firebox that smoldered for a while before igniting.

The state fire marshal never did a complete investigation. He said it was not ignited by natural causes (i.e. lightning) but I don't believe he checked for accelerants, which he should have given the fast spread of the flames. There was a lot of speculation in Chama that it was deliberately set by one or more disgruntled persons. As far as treating with fire retardant or changes in procedures, you would need to check with the RR.

Cumbresfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The state fire marshal never did a complete
> investigation. He said it was not ignited by
> natural causes (i.e. lightning) but I don't
> believe he checked for accelerants, which he
> should have given the fast spread of the flames.
> There was a lot of speculation in Chama that it
> was deliberately set by one or more disgruntled
> persons. As far as treating with fire retardant or
> changes in procedures, you would need to check
> with the RR.


Always an ***hole out there someplace! Just look at the corkscrew at Roaring Camp!

The initial state fire marshal's report is given at the link. There was not a followup investigation. The official cause is given as "undetermined."

http://www.chamasteam.com/chamasteam/LOBATO-FIRE/FMREPORT.pdf

And from a fire investigator's standpoint, an investigation is an exhaustive process to go through and come up with a single cause. Many times, there is not sufficient material left to make a legally definable determination. If there was no electrical service to the bridge then by process of elimination we rule out electrical. The fire could have been caused by an incendiary device but proving it was arson is a whole different story. Depending on the degree of destruction there may not have been enough wooden material left to determine if an accelerant was present but that may have been compromised by the presence of creosote, etc...

Bruce

THANK you for your good points, Bruce.

John Bush
Omaha

In one of the threads about the rebuilding plans, it was suggested that the bridge timber exposed surfaces be sheathed in aluminum. I'm guessing that wasn't implemented.

The Durango & Silverton runs its fire speeders relatively close to the steam engines, doesn't it? Maybe four or five minutes behind.