Small Fire Closes Metro Station

By Lyndsey Layton Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, June 13, 2000; 12:45 PM

The West Hyattsville Metro Station on the Green Line was shut down for about a half-hour Tuesday morning after a small fire erupted on brake pads of an out-of-service train.

Metro spokesman Ray Feldmann said the operator of an empty train noticed smoke coming from the brake pads about 11 a.m., while it was in the West Hyattsville Station. Metro shut down the station and called the Prince Georges County Fire Department, which arrived at the station at 11:04 a.m.

By the time the firefighters arrived, the train operator had extinguished the minor fire coming from the brake pads, Feldmann said.

The West Hyattsville Station reopened and Green Line service resumed at 11:30 a.m., Feldmann said. The train was taken to a Metro maintenance yard for a full inspection, he said.

Tuesdays incident comes on the heels of a report of smoke in the subway tunnel near the Dupont Circle Metro Station during yesterdays evening rush hour. That incident shut down three Red Line stations for almost two hours.

This morning's fire marks the fifth time in a week that Metro stations have closed because of reports of smoke or fire, all of them minor or unfounded.

Metro, under scrutiny for its handling of a serious April 20 subway tunnel fire, instituted a policy last week that suspends train service whenever there are reports of smoke or fire that could pose a hazard. Under the old policy, Metro workers would try to extinguish any fire before suspending service and calling the fire department.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49515-2000Jun13.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 13, 2000