PITTSBURGH — An electrical failure sparked a fire and filled a rail car with smoke at the Gateway T station in downtown Pittsburgh Wednesday evening, police said.
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Jennifer Setting was one of about two dozen passengers who emerged from the Gateway T Station after the fire.
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“It started to cloud the tunnel and that’s when the operator shut the T down so that there wouldn’t be any problems and (no one would) get injured,” she said.
Setting said the malfunction happened to the rail car behind the one she was on. She said the rail car operator kept everyone calm and helped riders exit the tunnel.
Port Authority Lt. Nelson Mitchell explained the malfunction that caused the electrical fire.
“The metal racks that actually support the wires, one of those areas broke off,” he said.
Mitchell said the break caused an arc, which resulted in smoke.
Dispatchers stopped additional rail cars from coming in and instructed the cars near the Gateway T Station platform to move out.
“Firemen and the Port Authority police went in and escorted the passengers on the platform and out of here,” Mitchell said.
No injuries were reported at the scene.
Port Authority officials said repairs were completed around 10:30 p.m. and operations have returned to normal.