Former Ringling Bros. train car fire in Palmetto under control, officials say

A fire that started in a former Ringling Bros. train car in Palmetto is under control, fire officials said.

Crews responded to the train car, which is in the area of 12th Avenue East north of U.S. 301, just before 5 p.m. Thursday, according to North River Fire District Captain Jeff Dirlong.

A train car on its side could be seen smoking from the dead-end of 12th Avenue East. Dirlong said the fire was under control around 6:30 p.m., but crews were still battling blazes inside the train car and could be out there for another couple of hours.

The former Ringling Bros. train car was in the process of being disassembled for scrap metal in a train yard when the fire started, Sabrina Cullen, director of global public relations for Feld Entertainment Inc., said in an emailed statement Thursday evening.

Feld Entertainment is the company behind the circus since it was purchased in 1967 by Irvin Feld, with his brother Israel and politician-developer Roy “The Judge” Hofheinz. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus curtains closed for the final time May 21 in New York.

The train car, Dirlong said, was on its side as it was being demolished. It was in the process of cutting the train car in half with a cutting torch when it caught fire.

There were no reported injuries.

However, other fire crews including the Bradenton Fire Department were called to the scene to relieve firefighters who had been working to douse the flames in the heat.

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Former Ringling Bros. train car fire in Palmetto under control, officials say."