Dupont Station evacuated due to fire on TTC train
Posted October 19, 2016 11:59 am.
Last Updated October 19, 2016 4:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There were some frightening moments for passengers on a TTC subway train that caught fire near Dupont Station on Wednesday.
Smoke filled some of the subway cars, leading to an evacuation of the train and the station.
Firefighters were called to the station just after 11:15 a.m. after receiving a report of smoke seen at the front of the train.
Toronto Fire Captain Adrian Ratushniak told 680 NEWS flames were seen at the rear of the first subway car. The fire was quickly put out.
TTC spokesman Brad Ross said the smoke-filled train was stopped between Dupont and St. Clair West stations. He said passengers were safely escorted off the train and out of the tunnel using an emergency exit.
Ross told 680 NEWS work was being done at track level when a cover from a piece of equipment from what is referred to as a train stop had been removed, causing a chain reaction.
“The train passed over that train stop and made contact with a piece of equipment that it shouldn’t have made contact with, which caused a loud bang and spark. [It] caused the cover board on the third rail, which is a piece of wood, to catch fire and smolder and fill the train with smoke,” he said.
Ross said 23 people were on the train at the time, and it took 10 minutes to get everyone out of the train and the tunnel.
Two TTC crew members were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation but are expected to be OK. No other injuries have been reported.
Subway service was suspended on Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina) between St. George and St. Clair West stations for several hours as shuttle buses took care of ferrying passengers between stations.
With files from Charlene Close
