Eastern Railroad Discussion > CSX Rail Tie Fire in Marion County Florida

Florida flagged ‘potential noncompliance’ weeks before toxic railroad fire

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Residents in Marion County are demanding accountability after a massive rail tie fire in Dunnellon prompted the city and county to issue a local state of emergency.According to an air monitoring report obtained by 9 Investigates, about 100,000 railroad ties soaked in creosote, a wood-preserving chemical that can be potentially cancer-causing, burned in the fire.State and local investigators are now monitoring air and soil quality as officials work to determine how the fire started and whether long-term environmental risks remain.

https://www.wftv.com/news/local/dunnellon-rail-tie-fire-sparks-environmental-concerns-legal-battles/335X5RTS7FBLJM6U33KY3FSD2U/

 

That must have been one impressive piles of ties. By my rough calculations if 100,000 ties were neatly and tightly stacked 10' high they would stretch for roughly 1 1/4 miles.

Baltimore

I’m sure it’s closer to 10,000

Posted from iPhone

Maybe the same type of person that likes to burn automobile tires when they get congregated in one spot?

Victor Baird

This is on the Florida West Coast RR, leased from CSX and operated by Regional Rail. The used crossties were slated for recycling by a business that has recently begun operations in the area and opposed by a number of local residents.

Posted from Android

It is kinda behind the Comfort Inn.  I stayed there two weeks ago and the was not that big.

DUNNELLON, Fla. — The Florida Department of Environmental protection has approved a plan to clean up a hazardous railroad tie fire in Dunnellon.It outlines each step in the clean-up process and a two-month timeline to remediate the site following a massive fire involving railroad ties treated with creosote, a chemical preservative.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the chemical takes years to break down if it enters the groundwater. Toxicologist say the chemical is potentially cancer causing and when burned, can lead to respiratory illness.


https://www.wftv.com/news/local/marion-county/state-approved-plan-outlines-two-month-cleanup-after-hazardous-dunnellon-rail-tie-fire/U7OOSLX5L5CXNMUHNHSZFBC6KI/
  

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe the same type of person that likes to burn
> automobile tires when they get congregated in one
> spot?
>
> Victor Baird

Both tire piles and tie piles can self-ignite if they're piled high enough. 

Could be arson, designed to make the railroad look bad...

Bob Phelps
Micanopy, FL