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Home My WebLink AboutHandouts_Workshop_Tab 02_08/31/2015 .�- � VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA _�F � � ' .-'� August 31, 2015 i Mr. Robert Ledoux �Tu�cH' :ot�tvG;��. Senior Vice President Florida East Coast Railway ABBY BRENNAN 7150 Philips Highway ��tayor Jacicsonville, FL 32256 abrennan@tequesta. arg Dr. Mr. Ledoux: VINCE ARENA Vice Saturday night, August 22, 2015, at 10:02 pm, Village of Tequesta Fire Rescue Station 85 varena crtequesta.org (TFR) received a request for mutual aid from the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Command Center. TFR assistance was needed at a serious automobile crash with trauma injuries at U.S. 1 in Jupiter. TFR was prevented from responding by a Florida STEVE OKUN East Coast Railways (FEC) freight train blocking all three grade crossings providing access Council �ieinber to and from Tequesta, due to a mechanical malfunction of the railroad bridge. A memo soktui@tequesta.org from the Shift Captain on duty to TFR Chief lames Weinand summarizes the events that made it impossible for first responders to answer the call for mutual aid: TOM PATERNO Council �Iember Good morning Chief. We had an incident tonight, 8/22, with a train blocking a113 tpaterno @tequesta.org intersections in Tequesta while trying to respond to a calL At 2204 tonight, R85 got toned out to respond to a mutual aid call in Jupiter in front of Harbourside FitnNx D'AMSitn (U.S.-1 & Breakwater Court). It was a very serious automobile accident with <; ouncil Nlember extrication and initially 2 trauma alert patients. R85 called in a train delay when fdambra@tequesta.org they got to Tequesta Drive railroad tracks. They then tried the intersection at Riverside which was also blocked. At this time, Command is calling them on the radio asking what their ETA was. Lt. Spurgeon explained to him it was unknown at this time do to the train not moving. Then they tried County Line Road which was also blocked by the train. Ct. Spurgeon notified dispatch that they could not respond due to the stopped train so they dispatched another Rescue. We went over to dispatch to find out what was going on and she told us that F.E.C. stated that they had a mechanical problem with the bridge again and that they were working on it. The train finally started moving again at 2225 so it looks like al13 Vr�.�.4cL Ii��r�c�� intersections were blocked for at least 21 minutes. MICHAEL COUZZO m�ouZZO@tequesta.org As you are aware, on March 7, 2015, the very same malfunctioning railroad bridge 561.768.0465 stopped another FEC freight train so that all three grade crossings providing access to and from Tequesta were completely bloci<ed for over 90 minutes. During the March 7, 2015 bridge malfunction, TFR first responders were forced to transport an automobile accident victim using Island Way, the only road that does not require crossing the railroad tracks. As a result of the bridge malfunction and resulting blockage of all grade crossing access points in Tequesta, a normal 5-minute trip to Jupiter Medical Center required an unacceptable 47 minutes. 345 'I'equesta l�rive 1 equesta, FL 33469-0273 561.768.0700 ww�r.tequesta.org $�311��- �01r1rt' �'�,<� , .; n� :; > r C ��1 � � ;.� � i- ,* Mr. Robert Ledoux August 31, 2015 Page 2 I brought this to your attention in a letter dated March 11, 2015. You immediately acknowledged my letter and in your responding correspondence you identified the issue that prevented the Loxahatchee River rail bridge from locking into place noting that "the repair was addressed and this particular problem should not occur in the future." You also listed four action items that had been implemented to assure the health, safety and welfare of our community would never again be compromised by a stopped FEC freight train. Nevertheless, the very same problem has occurred again; a mere six months later. Unfortunately, none of the four action items you promised were evident on August 22, 2015, and the ability for our first responders to reach and transport seriously injured accident victims was compromised to the point of impossibility. Once again, the locking mechanism on the Loxahatchee River rail bridge failed and an FEC train engineer chose to advance the train as close to the bridge as possible. Once again, a single stopped freight train blocked the only three points of egress from the Tequesta peninsula to U.S. 1 and Alt. A1A. In addition, a FEC train dispatcher failed to notify the Tequesta Police dispatch center that a train had blocked the three grade crossings. This lack of information caused a TFR rescue vehicle to literally "spin its wheels" as emergency responders desperately tried to cross the tracks and get to the accident scene. It is clear that the dangerously decaying condition of the 90 year-old Loxahatchee River Bridge and its rapidty deteriorating operating mechanism are problems that cannot be solved with "routine maintenance." Although I acknowledge your attempt to mitigate the problem, the callous indifference of FEC operations personnel is of serious concern. Regardless of whether Village of Tequesta police and fire rescue personnel cannot exit the peninsula, or incoming mutual aid responders from other jurisdictions are unable to gain access to it, blocked grade crossings can mean the difFerence between life and death. A recent example is the LP gas-fueled structure fire that exceeded the resources of Tequesta police and fire rescue personnel on August 10, 2015. That incident required, in addition to TPD personnel and equipment, three additional fire rescue units from Palm Beach County and numerous Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies who were dispatched to evacuate neighboring residents and contain the fire. Had the Riverside Drive grade crossing been blocked that night, the only other available route would have conservatively added 15 - 20 minutes to the response times of critically important backup equipment and personnel. The risk of serious injury or death to Tequesta residents and first responders would have increased exponentially for every second that went by before full containment of the fire and risk of explosion could be achieved. 345 "g"equesta I➢rive Tequesta, FL 33469-0273 56�.768.0700 ��v«r.tequesta.or;; t -� �� - i :�; '. i ; Mr. Robert Ledoux ! August 31, 2015 ; Page 3 ' � The increasing malfunctions at the Loxahatchee Bridge and resulting blockage of ANY of the three grade crossings must stop. Although All Aboard Florida's president Mike Reininger has stated that the , bridge will undergo a multimillion dollar renovation of the structure, mechanisms and signaling ' system, the details and timing of when that will occur is unspecified. Given the inability of FEC operations staff to honor a simple four point mitigation strategy to prevent the Riverside Drive crossing from being blocl<ed, there is little faith that the promised renovations wili occur with any sense of importance. The members of this community and the protectors of their health, safety and weifare must have reasonable access to both sides of the FEC tracks and it must be addressed immediately. We cannot wait and risk an occurrence of a truly catastrophic event that your railroad could have prevented. Please contact me to discuss this further. Sinc ely, � by Br nan / �� 'v Mayor C: Village Council Michael Reininger, President, All Aboard Florida Attachment: Satellite Image of Tequesta � � � i 345 Tequesta Drive Tequesta, FL 33469-0273 561.768.0700 www.tequesta.org i I � Below is a satellite image of the Tequesta area* which identifies the three FECR grade crossings being referenced in this letter. Island Way in Martin County is the only other exit available when all three crossings are blocked. Using the Tequesta Public Safety Building as the starting point, the distance and estimate time for a rescue vehicle (in normal traffic) to reach Jupiter Medical Center is shown below. On I March 7t'', it took first responders 47 minutes to reach 1MC because of the 2-mile backup of cars forced to use Island Way. Jupiter Medical Center is south of the Loxahatchee River Bridge. � County Line Road Grade Crossing 5,:�� iles ¢�— 9 minutes � -. ; .�r=: !� , : � � , 3.06 miles / 5 — 6 minutes � Riverside Drive Grade Crossing 3.19 miles / 6— 7 minutes �� Island Way 10.01 miles / 18 — 24 minutes � � �.. ._'�.. , � ;:� - ' _ _. . �,�- 4 ;~� � +� . .�� . .... . � �� _iv=-F,F ,-� ' ' � � 1 . _ �� _ , x � : e - t� �� i ! ° ' ��. � � '��S`; � � t' j r r. Y \ ) 1 .. . `: ClS.J � : � {"� S r ` } . �r � { ' e � � � t t � � 3 r T �"'"" 5 � �, r �t , � � , � 1 r., � � „�., �. '�'�� t , � ` � �T?-,�{. ; � : .i a , ��l + Y 2 1 �,� , ." ` + ' , � t". # � - �=�., �- , '' f ' , F': tin� Z � Y �� . 5� , i r . r -� r x iji F�' '� r j. , f�' �. �.�� g �K 1�,'.-�T�C�' t d . � A z ' i.� : i(�i�� -�: I�fJ ��r _ SylF k �' . 1`. . �i `. . '(7h �/� E i .. �} t:� v _� -- �.� ��' ' � '�'y, I . � �� i ) .�C� r i � .a. �� t� : . � 1 �� - �� r 1 � � _,.,,.�...*-_� j - _. . � _ . � — �-..+ �7 � �. 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