These slides are all about fire on trains & railway stations especially in context of Indian Railways.

1. FIRE ON TRAIN &
STATION
PREMISES

2.  Fire : All cases of physical fire or smoke emission resulting in death or injury
or damage to property amounting to Rs.5000/- and above.
 The fire incidences in trains are among the most serious disasters to human
lives and the property of Indian Railways. Thus the prevention of train fire has
become a serious concern for Railways. A train fire is different from a fire in other
place in the manner in which it breaks out, grows and spreads, and in the method
off igniting it. Fire in a coach on running train is very dangerous because it
spreads very quickly too thercoaches due to fanning effect. The fire triangle
illustrates the three elements a fire needs to ignite: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing
agent (usuallyoxygen). By eliminating any one of the element, fire can be
extinguished.
FIRE ON TRAIN & STATION PREMISES
FIRE : DEFINITION

3. FIRE: types & train accident category
 All fire cases come under category: B-1 to B-4.
 Four Classes of fires are:
i. Class A: Wood, paper, cloth, trash, plastics -solids that are not metals.
ii. Class B: Flammable liquids—gasoline, oil, grease, acetone. Includes flammable gases.
iii. ClassC: Electrical—energized electrical equipment (as long as it’s “plugged in” or
supply ON )
iv. Class D: Metals—potassium, sodium, aluminum, magnesium. Requires Metal-X,
foam, and other special extinguishing agents.
FIRE: types & train accident category

4. Causes of fire on train & station premises:
 Mishandling of Inflammable substances
 Electrical faults: short circuits, burning of cable insulation
 Smoking by passengers
 Lack of safe practice in pantry cars
 Unauthorized cooking, burning of fuels by passengers

5. There are varieties of reasons which may be a source of initialization of fire,
some of them are mentioned below-
 Carrying Inflammable goods like stove, gas cylinder, kerosene oil, petrol, fire
works etc. in passenger coaches.
 Making fire /using fire near paper, wood, petrol or such other inflammable
articles.
 Throwing waste material outside the dustbin neardoor.
 Malpractices like smoking and carelessly thrown lighted matchsticks, cigarette
/Bidi butt etc.
 Insertion of cigarette butts, Bidi butts, Gutakha wrapper etc. in fanbase, fuse
distribution board, roof openings etc.
 Sabotage/ Discrepancy. Mishandling /carelessuse of pantry equipment by
pantry car staff.
 Leakages/ Blasts of Pantry Gas Cylinders. Careless storage of inflammable
materials like newspapers, edible oiletc. In pantry cars.
 Panic has also been noticed to have been caused among the passengers due
to smoke emission in case of brake binding/ hotaxle.
PROBABLE CAUSES OF FIRE IN RAILWAY COACHES

6. Causes of fire on train & station premises:
(i)External causes such as sparks from the engine, sabotage, hot
axles, throwing lighted cigarettes, carrying naked lights etc. near
the goods consigned.
(ii)Internal causes like loading of inflammable, dangerous and
oxidizing goods whichmay catch fire on account of friction, slight
change in temperature etc. and use ofdefective wagons, should be
eliminated in order to establish that the Railway hasdischarged its
liability as common carrier.

7. What to do when informing about
fire on train:
In case of fire the following additional information must
be given:(a) Coach or wagon No.(b) Material involved in
fire, if known.(c) What was used to extinguish fire.(d)
Time the fire extinguished.(e) Additional fire
extinguishers required, if any.

8. Handling of inflammable materials to prevent
fire on train:
Petrol and other inflammable goods, handling of :- Petrol, explosives and other
dangerous goods in full wagon loads must only be loaded, unloaded or transshipped
during day light and on no account after dark, necessitating the use of lamps. The
doors on both sides of a wagon containing consignments of petrol should remain fully
opened for five minutes before anyone is allowed to enter the wagon for loading or
unloading purposes. In the case of consignments of petrol, explosives and other
dangerous goods carried in trains, the Guard of the train will be held responsible for
supervising their checking, loading and unloading. Oil or gas lamps must on no account
be taken inside the wagons or near the petrol tins, whether full or empty. No person
shall smoke or take any naked light or unprotected lamp near the place where such
goods are stored or handled.

9. What to do when fire on track
Guard or Driver who notices fire on track
must stop the train and extinguish the fire.
The guard shall advise the nearest P.Way
staff if any, and the SM at the next station.

10.  Cotton on fire
 Acid wagon catching fire
 Goods wagon carrying inflammable substances catching fire
Fire, Reporting cases of :- When reporting cases of fire on trains, the
position of the vehicle on thetrain should be stated, also whether it
was loaded or empty. When reporting occurences of fire on trains
or in station premises, Station Masters and others sometimes
ascribe the fire to sparks from engine, or electric short circuit. Such
statements must not be made unless these can be definitely
substantiated
Unusual Occurrence of fire – action to be
taken in

11. In all cases of fire on coaching stock the following information should be submitted
along with Inquiry report:-
(a)Date, time, place. (b)Train number, loco type and number.
(c)Coach Number and Type. (d)Position of Coach from the locomotive.
(e)Source of fire, if known, if not known, part of coach where fire was first observed.
(f)Roofing material (whether rubberiod, flintkote or other material) sending sample
piece if available.
(g)Condition of wiring and electric equipment, and whether all fittings were intact
prior tofire.
(h)Whether ashtrays were provided in the compartments of the coach which caught
fire.Whether notices warning passengers to extinguish cigarette ends before
throwingthem away were exhibited in the coach which caught fire
Reporting Fire incidences on trains:

12. • In the last year, there are 15 cases of fire accidents/incidents reported over
zonal railways involving locomotives, coaching stock and freight stock due to
various reasons like miscreant activities, improper maintenance of rolling stock,
loading of prohibited items
•The fire incident on Monday 23 jan 2017 evening occurred between the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Masjid railway stations in Mumbai,
India. Witnesses claim that the fire was caused because of a short circuit.
Recent Fire incidences on trains & stations:

13. Preventing Fire in trains & stations:
• Fire Extinguishers: ABC type being installed in trains.
• Guard-cum-Brake Van, AC coaches and Pantry Cars in all trains are provided with
portable fire extinguishers to cater for emergencies due to fire accidents.
• Fire extinguishers shall be so located on the brackets at the approved points that
these are easily visible and accessible in case of emergency.
• Front line staff such as Station Masters have been imparted regular training to
operate fire extinguishers. Periodic drills on fire fighting are being conducted on
regular basis. The telephone number of nearby fire brigades is kept available at
Railway stations. Frequent drives against carrying of inflammable/dangerous
articles in trains as well as station premises are undertaken.

14. Preventing Fire in trains & stations:
• Indian Railways have always endeavored to enhance fire worthiness of coaches by
using fire retardant furnishing materials to mitigate effect of fire.
• Comprehensive Fire and Smoke Detection System has been taken up in one rake
of New Delhi – Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express on East Coast Railway. Besides, one
LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) New Delhi – Jammu Tawi Rajdhani and one rake of LHB
AC Double Decker Coaches running between Kachiguda – Tirupati/Guntur have also
been provided with such a system.
•Fire extinguishers are being provided in all Air-conditioned coaches, Second class –
cum – guard and luggage vans, Pantry cars and train locomotives. Improved
materials for electrical fittings and fixtures such as MCB, light fittings, terminal boards,
connectors, etc.

15. Preventing Fire in trains & stations:
• Detailed instructions have been issued to zonal railways for observance of safe practices
in handling of pantry cars and for ensuring periodical inspection of electrical and LPG
fittings in the pantry cars.
• With an aim to spread awareness among passengers ,intensive publicity campaigns are
being launched to prevent the travelling public from carrying inflammable goods along with
them.
• Fire fighting arrangements have also been made at railway stations by Indian Railways
Each station is provided with two dry chemical powder type fire extinguishers.
•Fire buckets filled with dry sand and water are provided at all stations. Safety posters for
operating various types of fire extinguishers have been displayed at stations. At large
stations, smoke detectors are being installed.

16. ENSURE FIRE SAFETY ON
TRAINS & STATIONS
***THANK YOU***