WASHINGTON — Metro is planning to make sure fire extinguishers in tunnels are working, and to clean up messes around emergency exits, as part of a response to urgent safety warnings from the Federal Transit Administration’s recent “safety blitz.”
Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said Thursday that Metro is moving “immediately” on a plan to make basic fixes such as keeping tunnels clean and making sure fire extinguishers are working.
All Metro workers are also going through a refresher safety training course before being allowed back out on the tracks. Wiedefeld says most have completed the class, and those on vacation will have to complete it before getting back to work.
“We’re basically reinforcing: These are the rules; this is what you do; this is how you speak to the [Rail Operations Control Center]; this is how you repeat things — all those things,” Wiedefeld said.
Metro has long had serious problems with communication surrounding the control center, which acts like an air traffic control tower.
Fixing lighting problems in the tunnels will take much longer than the fire extinguisher fixes and cleanups, but Wiedefeld says Metro will set a schedule for all the fixes.
Wiedefeld says the new chief safety officer will focus on preventing problems and overseeing the ongoing inspections of the system. Patrick Lavin officially starts May 9, but plans to join Wiedefeld at the National Transportation Safety Board meeting Tuesday, when the final report on last year’s deadly smoke incident near L’Enfant Plaza is expected to be approved.
