Amtrak Fire at Beech Grove

[Seaboard92]

That is a building over on the locomotive side of the facility. If you are looking at the satellite map the two buildings are the two most northwest buildings in the plant. However the building looks a lot like the building over in the bone yard with the scrap lumber.

Someone on facebook has drone photos but I should go ahead and tell you if you are thinking about flying a drone over Beech Grove don't do it. The Amtrak police are looking for you if you do it. Last time I was there the police asked us if we saw the drone that flew out over the bone yard or had anything to do with it, which we didn't. I can only imagine the same is true over on the locomotive side. If you fly a drone over the shop especially right now you are suspect No. 1 in the event it's arson.

 

[adamj023]

Amtrak police have done a good job every time I have used Amtrak in the past. I’ve been on trains with the dogs sniffing out the trains before looking for drugs or whatnot.

The area where the two buildings were seems to have space for additional construction in the future if they decide to. Lots of big yards and facilities are being built out by the commuter railroads and if Amtrak is in growth mode, I am assuming Beech Grove will see future expansion along with other areas.

 

[west point]

Maybe no paint jobs for a few weeks. The water situation. Need more info. It is possible someone closed a valve for some reason and forgot to restore. It happens more than you would think. Local utility found one that as best could be determined was closed for 6 years.

 

[daybeers]

That is a building over on the locomotive side of the facility. If you are looking at the satellite map the two buildings are the two most northwest buildings in the plant. However the building looks a lot like the building over in the bone yard with the scrap lumber.

Someone on facebook has drone photos but I should go ahead and tell you if you are thinking about flying a drone over Beech Grove don't do it. The Amtrak police are looking for you if you do it. Last time I was there the police asked us if we saw the drone that flew out over the bone yard or had anything to do with it, which we didn't. I can only imagine the same is true over on the locomotive side. If you fly a drone over the shop especially right now you are suspect No. 1 in the event it's arson.

No reason why one can’t fly a drone over nearly all property in the U.S. FAA writes those rules, not any police department.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

If you fly a drone over the shop especially right now you are suspect No. 1 in the event it's arson.

 

[railiner]

Maybe no paint jobs for a few weeks. The water situation. Need more info. It is possible someone closed a valve for some reason and forgot to restore. It happens more than you would think. Local utility found one that as best could be determined was closed for 6 years.

I would think that fire departments, or some other authority, would perform periodic checks or inspections on fire hydrants...if there were any out there...

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Private property fire hydrant are in a grey area. Had a old mill converted to apartments, the new owner and there management team was not aware that the hydrants on there property were there responsibly. Frozen (rust) hydrants during a apartment fire, cause the attack team to have a stressful day.

 

[PVD]

No reason why one can’t fly a drone over nearly all property in the U.S. FAA writes those rules, not any police department.

The FAA writes overall regulations, but there are plenty of State and Local Laws regarding their use. There are plenty of places and uses that are prohibited. PD may not write them, but they will (in some places) enforce them.

 

[Seaboard92]

I'm just stating the fact that the APD is hostile to drone operations over the shops. And if you don't want to be visited by the local police as a suspect on the fire you will want to avoid over flying the shops.

 

[PaTrainFan]

Evidently it was arson...

https://fox59.com/news/fires-in-two...ch-grove-intentionally-set-investigators-say/

 

[me_little_me]

Evidently it was arson...

Ooh! Anderson and Mica. Such meanies!

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Wow try to watch the local news coverage of the now arson investigation, and had to stop. These people are drama queens. Lack of security is very prevalent at this facility. So now we got someone who is a fire bug, and not just a spray paint artist. I get the fear of fire thing, but the panic/drama running in the streets of Beech Grove is too much.

 

[AFS1970]

I don't know much about Beech Grove as a community or their water/hydrant situation, but many communities across the country don't have hydrants and rely on tankers to fight fires. I could not tell from the articles it the shop is in an area without hydrants or if there were hydrants there that were not working.

Most standard fire engine have 500-750 gallons on board but have pumps that can deliver 1250-1500 gallons per minute. So in reality without more water, most can give you around a minute or two of water depending on some operating factors. Tankers carry anywhere from 1000 to 4000 gallons, although some are larger. They can offload that water quickly and go refill and bring more water. depending on how far they have to go to refill and how many tankers are being used, they can deliver an impressive amount of water. I saw a demonstration that delivered 10,000 gallons per minute, but that used 10 tankers and the refilling location was within a mile and had two regular fire engines to fill the tankers.

 

[TrackWalker]

I see a fire risk assessment and safety review of the Amtrak Beech Grove’s facilities in the very near future.

 

[adamj023]

Thank you for the information regarding arson suspected. Beech Grove does indeed need additional fire suppression technology as well as better security. I am surprised this facility wasn’t already heavily monitored to prevent this from happening. Hopefully the perpetrator or perpetrators will be brought to justice.

There was also a major fire in Westbury, NY right by the railroad tracks and I believe this one was also arson. I wonder if the two incidents are connected in any way as both were properties by major railroads.

 

[PaTrainFan]

There was also a major fire in Westbury, NY right by the railroad tracks and I believe this one was also arson. I wonder if the two incidents are connected in any way as both were properties by major railroads.

You actually don't believe that, do you? 700 miles apart?

 

[Bierboy]

Reward now being offered -- Arson reward

 

[Seaboard92]

Thank you for the information regarding arson suspected. Beech Grove does indeed need additional fire suppression technology as well as better security. I am surprised this facility wasn’t already heavily monitored to prevent this from happening. Hopefully the perpetrator or perpetrators will be brought to justice.

Here is what I know from working at Beech Grove for a few weeks.

Amtrak Police Department maintains a presence M-F at the guard shack and they have cameras everywhere. There are places where there are no cameras in the yard, but there are plenty of cameras that I've seen on the TV Screen in the office that I couldn't for the life of me tell you where they are. There is a usual guard shift around 3 PM between the two officers that I'm most familiar with but it took me awhile to figure that out because they look almost like twins. The Morning guy is a professional wrestler, the evening guy is just as entertaining but I forget his hobbies.

I believe there is an overnight guy as well but I haven't had a reason to be in the yard after dark because it's hard to get anything done then.

On weekends they have a rental cop who sits in the front office and occasionally runs around on a golf cart. To gain entry on the weekend you have to be on a pre approved list by the Foreman.

The fire happened on a weekend so I'm not surprised it's actually a fairly vulnerable facility because of it's size and so many hiding places. Just thinking in the bone yard there are so many cars that aren't locked, or missing windows, doors, and panels if you heard someone coming you could easily hide. And Amtrak's own equipment stored isn't locked at all if you can figure out the doors you're in.

As far as the actual facility there are a few week spots specifically where the rails enter/exit the facility that would be very easy for someone to gain access. It's a really weak facility that is designed to keep honest people out, but doesn't do a great job at keeping dishonest people out. I took a few credit hours in Counter-Terrorism so naturally wherever I go I look for weaknesses.

Vandals have done a lot of damage in the bone yard over the years my car had all sorts of vandalism done to it.

 

[Wolverine72]

I get the feeling this was a temporary or illegal paint storage facility. Any automotive paint shop and paint kitchen has got redundant fire suppression systems. I can’t believe a union in Illinois would accept any less for their worker’s protection.

 

[OBS]

I get the feeling this was a temporary or illegal paint storage facility. Any automotive paint shop and paint kitchen has got redundant fire suppression systems. I can’t believe a union in Illinois would accept any less for their worker’s protection.

Maybe because it is in Indiana?

 

[Bierboy]

Maybe because it is in Indiana?

 

[Wolverine72]

I just assumed Illinois and close to Union Station.
Both states have dominant unions.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Here is what I know from working at Beech Grove for a few weeks.

Amtrak Police Department maintains a presence M-F at the guard shack and they have cameras everywhere. There are places where there are no cameras in the yard, but there are plenty of cameras that I've seen on the TV Screen in the office that I couldn't for the life of me tell you where they are. There is a usual guard shift around 3 PM between the two officers that I'm most familiar with but it took me awhile to figure that out because they look almost like twins. The Morning guy is a professional wrestler, the evening guy is just as entertaining but I forget his hobbies.

I believe there is an overnight guy as well but I haven't had a reason to be in the yard after dark because it's hard to get anything done then.

On weekends they have a rental cop who sits in the front office and occasionally runs around on a golf cart. To gain entry on the weekend you have to be on a pre approved list by the Foreman.

The fire happened on a weekend so I'm not surprised it's actually a fairly vulnerable facility because of it's size and so many hiding places. Just thinking in the bone yard there are so many cars that aren't locked, or missing windows, doors, and panels if you heard someone coming you could easily hide. And Amtrak's own equipment stored isn't locked at all if you can figure out the doors you're in.

As far as the actual facility there are a few week spots specifically where the rails enter/exit the facility that would be very easy for someone to gain access. It's a really weak facility that is designed to keep honest people out, but doesn't do a great job at keeping dishonest people out. I took a few credit hours in Counter-Terrorism so naturally wherever I go I look for weaknesses.

Vandals have done a lot of damage in the bone yard over the years my car had all sorts of vandalism done to it.

Did that class you took in counter-terrorism teach you not to reveal all the security flaws at a location so as not to make it easier for people to utilize those flaws to attack that place. I don't think we needed to everything about Beech Grove and how it apparently is pretty easy to breach security.

 

[JoeBas]

It's Beech Grove, not Rocky Flats... ... ...

 

[me_little_me]

It's Beech Grove, not Rocky Flats... ... ...

But even Rocky Flats releases more information about its finances than Amtrak does.