What CN Rail is doing to prevent fires near rail lines in Winnipeg

Multiple fires have broken out next to rail lines in Winnipeg this spring and now the city of Winnipeg is meeting with CN Rail to come up with solutions to prevent fires.

CN Rail said the company is monitoring the conditions throughout Winnipeg and the province.

“CN takes this seriously and our crews on the trains and working on the tracks remain focused on minimizing the risk of brush fires along the railway,” Kate Fenske from CN said.

READ MORE: Winnipeg fire crews respond to numerous wildland fires Monday and Tuesday

The company is meeting with the city on Wednesday but said there are a number of things they are doing to reduce risk such as cutting the brush along the rail lines, stepping up patrols along the railway to look for signs of fire and inspecting trains for mechanical issues that could lead to sparks.

Tom Wallace, deputy chief of support service with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, said fire officials have noticed the trend of blazes near train tracks.

READ MORE: Wildfire risk high in Manitoba with no rain in forecast

“So we did see a pattern — a fire that started in St. Boniface in the area of Fort Gibraltar, followed shortly thereafter with a fire at The Forks, a fire at the Kenaston underpass, a fire at Shaftesbury on Wilkes and then a fire further down Wilkes at Elmhurst and Liberty. It does seem to fit a pattern in so far that there was a train that came through the area,” he said.

CN said when there’s a report of a brush fire along the tracks, the company inspects the equipment to determine if any mechanical issues could be the cause of the fire.

From January 1 to May 8, 2018, WFPS have responded to 55 grass/brush fires.

In 2017, WFPS responded to a total of 85 grass/brush fires for the year.