A RAILWAY company has apologised after three fires broke out alongside the tracks, but reassured residents they were contained and did not go beyond the railway land.
Fire crews rushed to Swanage Railway to put out two blazes trackside on Wednesday afternoon.
A spokesperson for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “A crew from Swanage were called to Harmans Cross at 4.26pm (Wednesday) afternoon following reports of a fire on the rail embankment.
“On arrival, firefighters found a large area of the embankment (80m x 20m) well alight, which they extinguished using two hose reel jets and beaters. The stop came at 5.29pm.
“A second appliance and small 4x4 pumping appliance from Swanage attended an area of rail embankment at Corfe Castle at 4.42pm – this area measured approximately 50m x 5m and was extinguished using two hose reel jets. The stop came at 6.03pm.”
Swanage Railway staff managed to put out a third fire before the fire service were needed.
Bob Patterson, Swanage Railway Company chairman said: "We are concerned about the continuing risk of fire along the route of the Swanage Railway during the current hot weather and we are committed to operating our heritage trains safely while also having due regard to our lineside neighbours.
"We carry out regular robust risk assessments and have suspended steam train operations for two extended periods during our peak season - because of the unusually hot and dry weather - with heritage diesel locomotives hauling our trains which has reduced the number of passengers carried.
"We are sorry that three lineside fires took place late on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 31.
"We appreciate that the lineside fires caused concern to nearby residents and thankfully there was no damage to neighbouring properties. One of the fires was extinguished by Swanage Railway staff while the other two fires were extinguished by the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service.
"I would like to thank the fire crews for dealing with these incidents quickly, effectively and professionally while also thanking Swanage Railway staff for acting quickly, safely and efficiently in challenging circumstances."
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