WASHINGTON — There was a large emergency response to the Stadium-Armory Metro Station on Sunday morning, but it was only a drill.
Metro Transit Police, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services and other agencies simulated a smoke and fire emergency in the tunnel near the Stadium-Armory Metro Station. The tests were a follow up to a smoke incident in February.
Also, back in January, a woman died from thick, choking smoke that filled Metro trains in L’Enfant Plaza.
The primary focus of Sunday’s drill was on the communication between the agencies. “Making sure that the Metro Transit Police Department [is] in sync with the D.C. fire department,” Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik said.
But it’s not just about communication between the first responders. “How do we communicate with our customers and make sure they get the right message?” Pavlik asked.
The simulation involved a train that had its brakes stuck in the tunnel. Crews needed to get about 25 riders off of the train. They were also testing the remote controlled ventilation system.
“Here, obviously was a make believe scenario,” said Pavlik, adding that the main goal was trying to find the origin of smoke.
Metro and first responders follow a protocol when a report of smoke is made. When the report comes in, the station manager goes down to the tracks to see what may be causing the smoke. Crews turn off the third rail and police arrive on the scene.
Once it is safe to go onto the tracks, fire crews go in to help lead stranded passengers off the train and back onto the platform. If a passenger is unable to walk back to the station, they are transported on a rail cart. When all of the passengers are accounted for, crews then clear the train from the scene and resolve the issue.
The entire process– from when a report of smoke was made to getting the final disabled passenger off the train– took about an hour. Speed, however, was not the drill’s focus. The able-bodied passengers were off the train in about 45 minutes.
“One thing that we stress to the people here was to stay on the train,” Pavlik said. “You are always the safest on the train.”
Pavlik said it looked like a success from what he saw from the Stadium-Armory platform, but will said they would have clearer results after everything gets analyzed.
