LOCKLAND — An elderly woman died after a house fire on Sunday morning after a train delayed firefighters trying to reach her home.
Firefighters were dispatched to a home on Patterson Avenue in Lockland just after 9:30 a.m., according to our news partners WCPO.
A stopped Norfolk Southern train blocked railroad crossings, delaying the Lockland crew’s response, Lockland Fire Chief Doug Wehmeyer said.
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Because of the delay, a fire unit from Reading arrived on the scene first.
Firefighters found smoke coming from the home. Crews forced opened the front door of the home, where they found holes in the floor.
An elderly woman was found in a bedroom and was transported to a local hospital, where she later died, said Wehmeyer.
Wehmeyer said the train, identified as a Norfolk Southern train, delayed Lockland firefighters seven minutes, when it normally takes crews 30 seconds to reach the address.
He said that one of his off-duty firefighters saw the train sitting on the tracks at 8 a.m., and it was still there an hour and a half later.
“Why a train is allowed to block critical crossings in communities, affecting life safety, is beyond me,” Wehmeyer said.
He said that blocked railroad crossings are putting the community at risk and have been an ongoing problem.
Wehmeyer has tried working with Norfolk Southern to find a solution, but he believes that federal legislation is needed to prevent trains from blocking critical routes used by emergency responders.
WCPO reached out to Norfolk Southern, which responded with the following statement:
We are looking into this incident and are in communication with officials in Lockland.
• We recognize residents’ concerns, particularly regarding access for emergency responders.
• Norfolk Southern makes every effort to avoid affecting communities with a stopped train. Our goal is to keep our trains moving safely across our entire 19,200-mile network.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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