Train crew’s narrow escape in Ontario puts spotlight on workplace safety and power of employee videos
It was a story that made headlines beyond Canada despite taking place in Ontario’s northwest.
A train crew was surrounded by a wall of fire that looked set to engulf their cab. Two individuals driving the CN train, apparently waiting for another train to pass before they could proceed, sounded both calm and frantic as the flames leapt up around them.
“This could potentially overtake us here, this has gotten a little scary,” says one. “Holy sh--.”
In the video, a crew member can be heard communicating urgently over radio with a dispatcher identified as "Jodie," asking them to speed up the train's departure.
“Y’all need to hurry up here, like, seriously,” says one of the crew members. “We’re encased in flames now.”
Luckily, the train they’re waiting for finally emerges from the wall of flames and the video ends, suggesting they moved forward to escape the inferno.
Since it was filmed and posted on social media on July 13, the video has raised many alarmed questions about how the train crew ended up in such a dire situation. The union representing the workers is demanding answers.
“This incident should never have happened. CN should never have sent a train down those lines. The company knows exactly how bad the situation is in that region. That fire has been raging for five weeks,” said Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.
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