On April 24, 2004, at 6:30 PM, the Central Fire Protection District #4, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Fire Department was dispatched to a grass fire.
Upon arrival, fire crews found the railroad trestle crossing the Amite River was on fire. With the nearest road .7 miles away, the trestle is in a remote location.
Teams used a 4x4 brush truck (2002 Ford F-350 single rear wheel, 150 gallon water tank, 5 gallon class A foam tank), along with a 250 gpm floating pump fed by the river.
Investigation determined that lightning from a thunderstorm hit the steel structure igniting the wooden poles on the elevated portion of train tracks. The railroad was notified and all train traffic was haulted. Personal from the railroad arrived on site to survey the damage and stated that it would be take about two weeks to repair the structure before the railroad tracks could be opened to trains.
