WASHINGTON — Passengers on a smoke-filled subway train in the nation’s capital were still asking when help would arrive 27 minutes after the smoke was first reported, District of Columbia officials said Thursday.
One woman died and dozens more were sickened when the train filled with smoke Monday afternoon near a busy station in downtown Washington. The cause of the electrical malfunction that led to the smoke remains under investigation.
District officials released a timeline of the emergency response Thursday morning. While it does not disclose the time that paramedics reached the smoke-filled train, it confirms the accounts of passengers who said they waited more than a half-hour for help.
The first report of trouble came at 3:18 p.m., when a 911 caller reported smoke emerging from a tunnel near the station. Several 911 calls followed, and at 3:45 p.m., two people called from the train to ask whether help was on the way.
It was another 24 minutes after that, at 4:09 p.m., that officials reported performing CPR on the woman who later died. Passengers have said they tried to revive her on the train before emergency responders got there. She wasn’t taken to a hospital until 4:25 p.m. — more than an hour after the smoke was spotted.
The timeline also shows that firefighters were on the scene for 13 minutes before Metro subway officials confirmed that people were trapped on a train and that the electrified third rail had been shut down.
The first reports of trouble actually came from another downtown Metro station about a mile away. According to the timeline, Metro called to report a debris fire on the tracks. It was not clear whether that fire was related to the electrical malfunction that caused the smoke, but it occurred north of the L’Enfant Plaza station. The train that filled with smoke was heading south toward Virginia.
Many passengers on the stricken train decided to evacuate on their own before emergency responders got there, despite instructions from the train operator to stay put.
“We were not given any information that police or fire were en route or nearby,” said Luis Clemens, 47, a National Public Radio editor who left the train. “All we got was, ‘Stay in place. Yes, I know there’s smoke. Don’t leave.’ And that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when you’re sitting there, watching, over some period, watching the subway cars fill up with smoke.”
The city is assisting the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation.
A news release from the city says the early sequence of events “involved not one but three Metro stations.”
“There were initially 13 emergency calls either to 911 or to the Office of Unified Communications supervisor. Fire and EMS units were dispatched to three different locations based on initial emergency calls,” the release says.
Here is the timeline of the response on Monday:
3:14 p.m. – Metro Rail’s Unit 22 called to report a debris fire on the tracks at Gallery Place Station, upper and lower levels
3:19 p.m. – Engine 02 Unit Dispatched to 7th St NW/H St NW (Gallery Place Metro)
3:18 p.m. – A caller from a construction site reported smoke coming out of the Metro tunnel at 9th and Water St SW
3:22 p.m. – Metro Rail’s Unit 22 called to advise of heavy smoke at L’Enfant Plaza Metro upper level
3:22 p.m. – Engine 02 Arrived at 7th St NW/H St NW (Gallery Place Metro)
3:24 p.m. – Metro Transit Official called requesting medics and fire units at L’Enfant Plaza Station for smoke in the station and reported citizens in the station could barely breathe
3:25 p.m. – FEMS units arrived at 9th St SW/Water St SW scene where there was an odor of smoke but no flames were seen
3:27 p.m. – A caller at the entrance of L’Enfant station requested an ambulance
3:28 p.m. – Metro box alarm was dispatched to 7th & D St SW; EMA is notified
3:31 p.m. – Rescue 1 arrives (1st unit) at 7th and D St SW L’Enfant Station; MPD is dispatched
3:32 p.m. – MPD unit 1D 1011 arrives
3:32 p.m. – A caller at the entrance of L’Enfant station requested an ambulance
3:33 p.m. – A caller on the yellow line, in the tunnel stated the train was filled with smoke
3:33 p.m. – A caller said he was “at or on” the Pentagon train and was transferred to Arlington 911 Center. The OUC call taker remained on the line and updated CAD which reflected this call
3:35 p.m. – Engine 02 Unit cleared Gallery Place Metro and dispatched to L’Enfant Plaza
3:39 p.m. – A caller on the train advised that it was filling with smoke.
3:42 p.m. – A caller from a street location of 7th and E Street SW reported his wife was having difficulty breathing after she exited L’Enfant Station
3:42 p.m. – Repeat caller from 3:33 – made inquiry “if help is on the way” the caller provided the train number 3031. He was transferred to the Metro Transit Official who told him not to leave the train because the tracks were still live
3:43 p.m. – A caller advised he was stuck on the train and it was filling with smoke
3:44 p.m. – BFC advises that WMATA confirms that power is shut down; there is a train with people trapped
3:45 p.m. – A male caller asked “if help is on the way because the train is filling with smoke”
3:45 p.m. – A female caller asking if help is on the way because the train is filling with smoke
3:46 p.m. – A second alarm dispatched
4:09 p.m. – Battalion Chief 1 advises he is at Operations Command Center and there is a report of a patient having a seizure on the train; squad 1 advises 9th and D; and an adult female is undergoing CPR, requesting a medic
4:12 p.m. – Medic 14 advises he is a block away from L’enfant plaza and will respond; Medic 6B responds that he is closer, medic 14 cancels the run
4:17 p.m. – Medic 6B is given the corrected location on channel 0A12, 9th and D St SW
4:19 p.m. – Command 2 directs all medical units on L’enfant Plaza to switch to 0A5 (tactical channel due to radio traffic)
4:25 p.m. – Medic 27 transports patient to GW, CPR is still in progress
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.
