The Mitchell Fire Department responded to the report of smoke showing in the railyard at the corner of Railroad and South Kimball Street. At approximately 10:07 AM on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, fire crews arrived to find heavy smoke coming from a rail car. Fire crews were able to make access to the rail car through the rail yard. Upon opening the rail car, fire crews found six (6) large rolls of paper inside. Two (2) of those rolls were currently on fire. After the fire was extinguished, the rolls were removed from the rail car using a BNSF loader. The rail car did sustain some fire damage from both heat and smoke. Six (6) firefighters and staff reported to the fire and no injuries were sustained.
Investigator’s on scene state that the origin of the fire was from an external heat source. The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation but appears to be suspicious at this time.
At this time, the scene has been turned over to the Mitchell Police Department for further investigation.