During a morning commute already complicated by a transit strike, a fire broke out yesterday on one of SEPTA's most heavily traveled Regional Rail lines, forcing the evacuation of about 1,000 passengers on two four-car trains.
Three SEPTA crewmen were taken to area hospitals for smoke inhalation and a passenger was treated by a paramedic at the scene.
"We've never had a Regional Rail fire that completely destroyed a car," said SEPTA spokesman Jim Jordan. "Everything in the car was fire-retardant. We are puzzled by how much damage the fire did."
Jordan said that the 7 a.m. fire on the R5 Paoli-Thorndale line had nothing to do with the strike by Transport Workers Union Local 234.
(Regional Rail workers operate under a different contract from the city division and are not part of the strike.)
Just outside the Overbrook station near a SEPTA maintenance facility, the engineer and passengers smelled smoke, and the engineer asked the passengers to go into the three other cars, Jordan said.
Then, the engineer, in communication with the control tower, cut off power to the car and proceeded toward 30th Street Station, powered by the three other cars.
But smoke swirled around his seat and the engineer stopped the train, lifted the first seat behind him and saw flames coming from a metal well, where there's a vent for the heating system and signs stored for the train, Jordan said.
He notified the SEPTA crew to evacuate the train and obtained a fire extinguisher, trying unsuccessfully to put out the fire, Jordan said. "It had been smoldering for some time."
The engineer told the crew to evacuate the train. Passengers popped open the windows to get out and fled through the exits of the car.
The interior of the front car was destroyed by flames, said Jordan.
Right behind the first train came another R-5 on a parallel track. All passengers on both trains were evacuated safely without incident, SEPTA spokesman Gary Fairfax said.
Four SEPTA buses and six buses provided by the Philadelphia School District transported the stranded passengers to Suburban Station and 30th Street Station, Fairfax said.
SEPTA suspended service on the R5 and R6 Cynwyd lines until the scene was cleared about 8:30 a.m.
Investigators from the Philadelphia Fire Department, SEPTA and the Federal Railroad Administration were investigating the fire's cause. Jordan said that although the car was one of several in use that were manufactured in 1964, SEPTA would inspect all cars to ensure their safety.
SEPTA conducts annual training exercises with the Fire Department for such emergencies.
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