FORT WORTH -- A fire so hot that it warped the rails on a trestle over Sycamore Creek stopped a Union Pacific train on its tracks Thursday afternoon.
The blaze, reported about 4 p.m., was in a remote wooded area near the 4400 block of South Riverside Drive, fire officials said.
Firefighters had a hard time getting equipment to the bridge, Fire Department spokesman Tim Hardeman said.
"The closest hydrant was more than 1,200 feet away, an unusually long hose lay in the city," Hardeman said in a news release. "The incident commander requested that all train traffic be stopped, as the intense heat of the fire warped the rails on the trestle. Shortly after the request was radioed in, a train was heard approaching in the distance.
"The train was stopped about 600 feet from the trestle."
The fire would have had to reach about 1,500 degrees to do that type of damage to the rails, Battalion Chief K.T. Freeman said.
"It was a potential derailment situation," Freeman said.
Firefighters soaked the wood with foam to inhibit flare-ups, and they were still working the fire 90 minutes later and watching for hot spots.
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