The scenes outside the window of the train are breathtaking. A wall of flame engulfs the treeline just feet away from tracks.
“Y’all need to hurry up here, like, seriously,” says one of the crewmembers. “We’re encased in flames now.”
The crewmember’s voice can be heard from behind the camera as he pans around the cab, which is cast in the orange-red light of the flames outside. The fire is raging above the treetops as wind whips smoke by the window.
Then he speaks again, asking if someone named “Jodie” is still on the line.
“Well, Jodie? Can you hear us?”
“Yeah, I can hear you there,” says a voice on the radio. “We’re notching up.”
“Yeah. This has got to move f---ing quick here,” said the voice behind the camera.
He pans around again, and shows the dashboard in front of him, which reads ARMSTRONG ON. The date: July 13, 10:18 p.m. He curses again under his breath.
It’s a harrowing scene captured in a video shared widely on social media. Ontario MPP Sol Mamakwa was among those who posted it on X.
“This is near Armstrong, Ontario,” he wrote. “When will the Canadian National Railway Company make a statement about this incident?”
CTV News reached out to CN for details, including the location, time, and nature of the operation.
A spokesperson for the railway wrote back to confirm “that the crew was safely evacuated from the area,” but offered no other details.
In a statement to CTV News, Transport Canada wrote it was watching the fires in the rail corridor near Armstrong and Collins, Ont. closely.
“Transport Canada will continue to assess the circumstances surrounding the incident and take any appropriate action under the law to help ensure the continued safe transportation of dangerous goods,” a spokesperson said.
They also wrote the institution is monitoring the overall wildfire situation closely, and that it “will not hesitate” to impose restrictions and protective measures if necessary.
This ‘should never have happened’: union
The union representing the rail workers commended their “composure in a terrifying situation,” but criticized CN for allowing a train to travel through the region.
“Make no mistake, this incident should never have happened. CN should never have sent a train down those lines. The company knows exactly how bad the situation is in that region. That fire has been raging for five weeks,” reads a Wednesday news release from Teamsters Canada.
“Our members should never have to drive through a wall of flames to move freight,” said union president François Laporte in the release. “Railway workers keep this country’s economy moving, but no shipment is worth a human life.”
In a separate statement issued Tuesday, a CN spokesperson wrote the company has suspended rail operations near Armstrong. Employees and residents were evacuated Monday overnight.
“The safety of our employees, the community, and emergency responders remains our top priority,” reads the note from CN.
Wildfires cause evacuations
There were more than a hundred active wildfires in northwestern Ontario this week. A mandatory evacuation order was called for Armstrong, as well as Collins First Nation, Cushing Lake, Gakijiwanong Anishinaabe Nation (Lac La Croix First Nation) and surrounding area, Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation and surrounding area, and Whitesand First Nation.
Smoke drifted throughout the province. Torontonians woke up to a dull, greyish and smoky sky on Wednesday. As of 8 a.m., the city had the worst air quality in the world, according to IQAir, which tracks global air quality data.
“We have a very smoky start to the day. I know it may look like fog but we are contending with wildfire smoke,” CP24 Weather Specialist Jess Smith said on Wednesday morning.
“It doesn’t get better throughout the day today, unfortunately.”
With files from Dan Bertrand, CTVNorthernOntario.ca content producer
