On Your Side Investigation: Growing communities in the Ozarks face delayed emergency response times caused by trains

(KY3) - If you live near railroad tracks and have a medical emergency, some people in the Ozarks must wait for help to arrive.

File a complaint about a blocked crossing here.

“I stood right here so I could see everything. It was a huge fire,” said Andrea Burns.

Two years ago, Burns saw her neighbor’s home on fire in Republic and called 911.

“That gentleman had to stand there with those burns. I know he was in shock and probably didn’t feel it, but it’s scary,” she said.

Her neighbor needed immediate help.

“I stood here wondering. Why are the officers here so quick, and fire isn’t here yet?” she asked.

Shortly after Burns called 911, firefighters received word that a train was coming through town.

“I got to the railroad crossing, and I’m thinking this train will clear. It will clear. And I could see the house burning as the railcars were going by. You want to get there and help them, but you can’t do anything,” said Duane Compton, Republic Fire Chief.

“It feels like forever when you’re in that five minutes. It’s just forever,” said Burns.

“The crew that was on duty did a U-turn in the middle of Highway 60,” said Compton.

Instead of rushing toward the flames, firefighters went in the opposite direction and made a giant circle.

“A lot of times, the shortest distance to a call is not the most direct route. Going this route was far quicker than waiting on this train to clear,” said Compton.

Compton says Republic firefighters always have a Plan B because more than a dozen BNSF trains run through the city daily. The Fire Department averages about 1,800 calls a year. Fire crews recently started writing down every time a train impacts their response time. In 2022, crews were delayed fifteen times by a train.

“So when you look at those fifteen calls, that’s a really low percentage. Unless you’re the one dialing 911,” said Compton.

Most of those delays happened around Highway MM and 60. The city’s growth, especially with new businesses like Amazon, makes it congested.

“Now it is absolutely packed with semi-trucks daily. Add a thousand people who work in that area. It has clogged it up,” said Compton.

There are plans to improve this spot with more lanes, a roundabout, and a bridge. MoDOT estimates it will cost upwards of $33 million. Work should start in two years.

In this Federal Complaint Database, since 2019, people in the Show-Me State have filed more than two thousand (2153) blocked crossings reports. We should mention these reports are not checked or verified. Anyone can file.

In the Ozarks, besides Republic, Springfield has complaints about the crossing near Chestnut Expressway and I-44. A person wrote, ‘First responders were unable to cross the tracks. The blocked crossing is a normal affair.’

Our camera captured several drivers turning around. The crossing near Division and Hwy 65 gets complaints too. Someone wrote, ‘Stationary trains severely backed up traffic.’

On Your Side reached out to the city of Springfield and asked for an interview about these complaints. We got an email and were told they don’t track delayed response times caused by a train because it’s ‘insignificant in number.’ The email went on to say; The city does not wish to provide comment for this story.

But firefighters in other districts who agreed to talk with On Your Side say every call matters.

“When people call 911, they expect immediate service, and they should have it,” said Compton.

We traveled east of the tracks to Rogersville.

“You can see the accident. You can see the people waving their arms, but there’s no magical way to cross in front of a train,” said Chief Rich Stirts with the Logan-Rogersville Fire Department. He says for nearly four decades, about once a week, his crews would rush and then come to a standstill.

“It makes everyone’s hair stand on the back of their neck,” he said.

State Highway 125 used to intersect with the railroad tracks directly. Chief Stirts says a train would delay their response from five to seven minutes. Now his crews don’t wait on a train. That changed about five years ago with a new overpass which keeps traffic moving.

“We are very thankful and blessed to have the opportunities that other communities don’t have,” said Chief Stirts.

Down the tracks, there are more improvements by MoDOT and BNSF. A closed crossing at Cherry Street now means no stopping for drivers. Off HWY D, there’s a new underpass and a service road. Crews can get to homes fast, even when there’s a train.

“If you start planning today, you’ll be lucky if you get it done in ten years,” said Stirts.

BNSF refused our request for an interview about this story.

File a complaint about a blocked crossing here.

MoDOT plans to improve the Highway MM area in Republic.

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