The Nation - News from Feb. 22, 1988

An Amtrak official disagreed with Nebraska authorities on the cause of a fire in a crew car on Amtrak’s California Zephyr that killed one man, and he defended the crew’s handling of the emergency. Nebraska Deputy State Fire Marshal Chuck Hoffman had said that an electrical short in a heater in the crew car caused the Saturday fire in Hastings. Nineteen people were injured. Hoffman said that the heater was in a storage area under the crew’s sleeping quarters and that the short ignited the car’s wood floor. State Fire Marshal Wally Barnett said the wiring showed wear and tear. But Amtrak investigators did not find evidence of an electrical short in the heater, railroad spokesman John Jacobsen said in Washington. The fire aboard the 14-car train, which was carrying 294 passengers and a crew of 18, may have been caused by luggage or some other flammable material near the heater, Jacobsen said.