Brush Fires At Beechwood-Brookline Station

The . battled two small brush fires during the overnight after a power line fell near the tracks of the Norristown High Speed Line at the Beechwood-Brookline Station, said the company’s fire chief John Viola.

(Click here to watch the video of the fire and the company putting it out.)

The company received the call around 10:55 p.m. on Monday that a power line came down and stared two small brush fires, Viola stated. The Haverford Township Police Department, where Viola is also the deputy chief, closed parts of Karakung Drive.

Viola told the Haverford-Havertown Patch that PECO was called in to cut the power to the fallen line.

Viola said that he believed that power to the Route 100 was cut from the Ardmore Junction to the Overbrook Station so firefighters could safely cross the tracks to put out the fire, which was right near the Beechwood-Brookline Station. 

Once the power was cut and a PECO worker was able to determine it was safe for firefighters to cross the tracks, the fire crews sprayed water onto the flames and smoldering ground at about 12:30 a.m., Tuesday.

There were initially two small fires, an estimated 100 yards away from each other. The one fire put itself out while firefighters put out the other one with water. That fire was the closest to the station.

A foam truck was brought in and went off road and parked next to the tracks and across from the fire.

Firefighters did hose down the site of the brush fire that put itself out.

Area residents were in no danger of the small fires, said Viola.

A PECO worker on the scene said that a support, or arm, that holds the power lines to the utility poles and even parts of the wire would need to be replaced and one of the utility poles itself maybe replaced as well.

He said that the line that came down holds 34,000 volts. 

He said that work may begin Tuesday morning, but said that service on the Norristown High Speed Line (Route 100) should not be affected for the morning commute, as power would be rerouted.