Interim Haverhill Fire Chief John E. Parow.
Haverhill fire investigators are looking at whether a passing storm Wednesday afternoon sparked an electrical fire near a stretch of railroad tracks in the Bradford section.
Interim Haverhill Fire Chief John E. Parow told WHAV commuter rail trains were temporarily stopped after a tree came down upon a high tension wire and sparked a ground fire near tracks off Rainbow Drive. Parow said it seemed to happen at the same time a “pretty good storm” moved through the area.
“We had to stop the trains for a couple of reasons. One, we had a high energy line that was still charged until National Grid could de-energize that line. We had a fire burning, but also we had firefighters working right along the tracks to extinguish the fire. So, we thought it was best to shut the line down,” Parow said.
No injuries were reported. Rail commuters headed between the Bradford and Lawrence rail stations were reportedly bussed temporarily by the MBTA before rail service resumed.
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