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 the station, so we had to hurry up and run and get out the station,” said Hobbs.
The district fire chief believes an electrical issue sparked the flames along the third track.
“Everyone was able to get out fine, they evacuated the station pretty quickly, they stopped all the trains, able to shut down the power,” said District Fire Chief Robert Counihan.
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Power was shut down at the station so crews could fix the tracks after the flames were put out, and luckily no trains were running through the fire at the time.
“It was actually 200 feet in the tunnel, then the train was at the station at the time, they were able to stop all trains, so trains weren’t affected at all,” said Counihan.
Still, it was frustrating for riders to deal with more delays along the T because of this.
Hobbs says she also wishes there was faster communication about what was going on.
“I just feel like the operator could have announced to get off the train, there was no announcement they just kept saying it was delayed so no one knew anything,” said Hobbs.
The MBTA tweeted updates about this fire and the delays throughout the day.
The issue has been resolved and the trains were back up and running like normal for the evening commute.
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This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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