CAR

This article , found on Nicar.org's Extra Extra! link talks about a lawsuit that was filed in Seattle about railroads that go through the state of Washington. The reporter got a hold of database that talks about how a lot of these railroads have been linked to fires.

The reporter looked at the state of Washington's firefighting database and also used other studies and investigation reports about these railroads.

I think that the reporter probably used his/her skills on searching more on this story. He probably used his/her skills on researching databases online to get more information about his story.