I haven't seen a tie fire known definitely to be caused by a cigarette, but have seen a few of "suspicious" origin. I suppose it would depend on the amount and freshness of the creosote, the condition of the tie (old and dried out, for example) and so on. They can be difficult to extinguish due to the cracks in old ties and the ability of creosote to shed water. Usually LOTS of water works, and I think many fire departments would use foam nowadays. Foam dramatically helps to improve water as an extinguishing agent, and it can be simply mixed in an Indian Tank (for those non-firefighters, an Indian Tank is a 5 gallon back pack with a telescoping pump nozzle, used for fighting brush fires.). Hope this helps. Jon ELHS#434 ----------------------------------------------------------- Visit the erielack photopage at http://el-list.railfan.net ------------------------------
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