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Fires force evacuations of MBTA stations, disrupt commute

E-mail|Link|Comments () September 16, 2009 09:07 PM

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

Troubles continued to mount for the MBTA tonight as two fires forced the evacuation of hundreds of riders and shut down at least three T stations leading to chaos for travelers throughout the city.

What appeared to be an overload or short circuit sparked small fires in an MBTA Red Line subway tunnel at South Station and an Orange Line tunnel at the Chinatown station, fire officials said.

Smoke spread to the nearby Downtown Crossing station, forcing evacuations of all three stations and halting MBTA service on both lines for several hours.

The fires broke out around 6:45 p.m. No one was hurt, but subway service was suspended at the end of rush hour in the middle of the city, causing confused crowds to form around several stations.

John Connolly of Dorchester was headed from Downtown Crossing to Ashmont at the end of the Red Line when he was forced off due to the fires.

‘‘It’s chaos, to be honest,’’ Connolly said.

Connolly said he could smell burning rubber as he left the station.

Tonight's incident was the third in three days for the T. On Tuesday, a commuter train from Worcester hit a metal backstop and came to an abrupt stop at South Station, causing 18 injuries. Monday night, two trains nearly collided on the Worcester commuter line.

Boston Fire Department Deputy Chief Steve Dunbar said tonight that an MBTA employee heard the sound of an electrical pop shortly before the fires broke out. He said some kind of short circuit sparked the two fires, which also ignited nearby trash and debris. The fires were put out quickly by firefighters with hand-held fire extinguishers.

"These things happen from time to time. The trains pass through the tunnels that get dirty and filled with debris," said Boston Fire Department District 7 Chief Erik Pettaway.

Dunbar said that with firefighters and rescue personnel in the subway tunnels, as well as MBTA officials repairing the damage, officials would be careful to ensure all personnel were accounted for before restarting service tonight.

At least two Red Line trains got stuck midway between stations. Officials evacuated hundreds of people from a train stuck on the Longfellow Bridge between Kendall Square and Charles/MGH Station and another stuck between Charles/MGH and Park Street Station.