Possible 'electrical Problem' Along Orange Line Track Sparks Fire At MBTA Station

BOSTON – Smoke filled the underground train station at Tufts Medical Center Wednesday after a fire broke out along the Orange Line tracks between North Station and Back Bay.

More than a dozen Boston firefighters were seen responding to the fire inside the station around 12 p.m.

Dandrea Hobbs was on one of the trains with two young children when they were told to evacuate.

“A lot of people were panicking telling us to get off the train, get out of the station, so we had to hurry up and run and get out of the station,” Hobbs said.

The district’s fire chief believes an electrical problem sparked the flames along Third Avenue.

“Everybody was able to get out okay, they evacuated the station pretty quickly, stopped all the trains and were able to cut the power,” said borough fire chief Robert Counihan.

Orange line fire (@Windtrain1/Twitter)

Power was cut to the station so crews could fix the tracks after the flames were extinguished, and luckily no trains were running through the fire at the time.

“It was actually 200 feet into the tunnel, then the train was in the station at the time, they were able to stop all the trains, so the trains weren’t affected at all,” Counihan said.

Still, it was frustrating for drivers to deal with more delays along the T because of it.

Hobbs says he also wishes there was quicker communication about what was going on.

“I feel like the operator could have announced the train going down, there was no announcement they kept saying it was delayed because nobody knew anything,” Hobbs said.

The MBTA tweeted updates on this fire and delays throughout the day.

The problem has been resolved and trains are back to normal for the afternoon commute.