APRIL 7, 2015
LAKIN, KANSAS
Two men escaped a semi fire Monday afternoon. It
happened between Lakin and Deerfield on some railroad tracks.
According to the Kearny County Sheriff’s Office, deputies
arrived to find a BNSF semi fully engulfed in flames.
One employee suffered burns. The other was uninjured.
They were both transported by Kearny County EMS to the hospital.
Images of these BNSF semi-truck trains.
The Kearny County Sheriff’s Office says the two were pulling
10 rail cars loaded with new railroad ties. Both heard a noise from
under the vehicle. By the time they stopped, flames were coming up. Both made
it out the semi.
Fire crews from Lakin and Deerfield initially fought the
blaze, which spread onto the railroad tracks and into a neighboring ditch and
pasture. A number of railroad ties along the tracks also burned. Fire crews
from Grant County were summoned assist under a mutual aid agreement between
departments.
Just after 7 p.m., the fire was extinguished, and BNSF crews
were able to start clearing the tracks. Fire units remained on the scene until
about 8:30 p.m.
A preliminary damage estimate from BNSF workers on the scene
was in excess of $600,000.
Source: ksn.com