Chief tries to put up the red flag on railway company
By Karen Mann JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

Fire Chief Brenton MacAloney is trying to protect his residents' safety and their wallets.

That is why twice in the past week he has issued an order of notice to Pan Am Railways to cease train operations in Westminster. The notices came on days the National Weather Service issued Red Flag Warnings in the region.

"This order was issued to prevent a reoccurrence of the large fire that occurred during the last Red Flag conditions on Monday, April 23, that was caused by a Pan Am Railways engine blowing hot embers on the railroad siding," reads the notice sent from MacAloney to Pan Am Railways, the former Guilford Rail Company.

MacAloney said in a later interview he is trying to protect the public from the risk of fire.

"These people are a danger to the public," said MacAloney referring to the railway company.

He was told by another firefighter he could issue an order stopping the trains on days the National Weather Service puts out red flag warnings.

Alan Dunham, a meteorologist and assistant fire weather program leader from the National Weather Service in Taunton, said they look for a few things before putting up the red flag.

"We are looking for a relative humidity of less than 30 percent, wind gusts of 25 miles per hour or greater, and three consecutive days with less than .25 inches of rain during stage one or stage two vegetation," said Dunham.

During stage one and two, vegetation has not turned green yet.

"The type of fire you will get this time of year will spread rapidly on the ground, there is a lot of debris on the ground which moves quickly," said Dunham.

For all of these reasons, it is common for red flag warnings to be issued from May until early July. Dunham said it is up to individual departments to decide how to handle the red flag warnings.

"We are not saying you are going to get a fire. If a fire starts, the weather conditions will perpetuate the fire," said Dunham. "It is another tool for fire suppression agencies to utilize."

MacAloney did this, issuing the ban on the tracks last Friday, which was deemed a red flag day. According to him, under Massachusetts State law, he can issue notices to stop fires from starting.

"Basically I am trying to fulfill my rights under state law," said MacAloney.

Pan Am Railways disagrees, citing the Commerce Clause in the Constitution.

"It is against this backdrop that Pan Am submits that individual states and municipalities, and more specifically, the town of Westminster, lack the authority to order the interruption of rail service as it will almost certainly have a detrimental affect on the free flow of interstate commerce and our nation's economy," states a letter written by Pan Am's staff attorney, Clinton Wright.

MacAloney said the company ignored his issue and continued to run trains on Friday.

"Accordingly, please be advised that Pan Am cannot acquiesce to the order issued in your May 4, 2007, letter as it clearly evidences a myopic view with respect to interstate commerce and America's economy and has no basis in applicable law," says Wright.

If told he legally does not have authority over the company, MacAloney said he wants to work on getting legislation written to give him this authority.

He is also working on getting reimbursed for the costs accrued from fires he says were started from trains passing in the area. From March 2006 through the most recent fire two weeks ago, the town spent an extra $21,000.

"We cannot sustain the cost that the railroad has imposed on us by starting fires," said MacAloney. "People who are relatively malice with equipment, need to be held accountable."

Officials from Pan Am could not be reached for comment.

MacAloney has not heard back from Pan Am in response to the bill sent, which states the company has 30 days to make a payment.