Fire train

The primary purpose of a fire train is to protect the railroad's property and right of way.

[1] Early accounts of fire trains date to the beginning of the 20th century.

In 1908, a fire train was reported to have saved the village of Long Lake West in the Adirondack Park of New York from being destroyed by a wildfire.

[3] A typical fire train will include several tank cars filled with water or firefighting foam, along with water cannons which can spray anywhere from 30 to 150 feet away from the tracks, both to preemptively wet down flammable materials and to suppress fires.

[6] As the trains include crew accommodations, railroads may also use them to transport firefighters to and from fires, which often occur in rural areas with poor road access.