Firefighters Battle 2-Alarm Fire At Forest Hills Station
BOSTON (CBS) – Firefighters battled a significant electrical fire at the Forest Hills MBTA station on Saturday morning.
The Boston Fire Department was called at 6:45 a.m. for an electrical fire in a switching vault on the Amtrak side of the tracks.
One commuter rail had to be evacuated.
"The passengers weren't in any danger," says Deputy fire chief Bernard Tully, adding that there was light smoke initially.
Firefighters could not initially extinguish the fire until the power was shut off.
The fire was next to the tracks at the station, and firefighters could be seen in a tower above attempted to knock down the flames. The blaze was not on a train.
Crews went through multiple air bottles and dry chemical extinguishers and were attempting to access more, the Boston Fire Department said.
As of 8:30 a.m., a significant amount of smoke was still pouring from the area.
Raw Video of Forest Hills Fire
By about 9:15 a.m., smoke was knocked down but firefighters were still using water and chemicals to get the situation under control.
No one was hurt during the blaze but firefighters did have to take precautions while contending with the thick smoke.
"We needed more air masks and dried chemical extinguishers," said firefighter Steve MacDonald. "These electrical fires burn a lot of toxic material and you've just got to be on oxygen all the time."
An Amtrak representative told WBZ-TV that trains were unable to run between Boston and Providence in either direction. It was unknown when service will be restored.
Commuter Rail lines were affected by the fire as well. According to the MBTA website, the Franklin Line train that department South Station at 7:20 a.m. was set to be delayed 45 to 60 minutes because of the fire.
In addition, shuttle buses replaced trains on the Needham Line between South Station and Needham Heights.
Officials say the Orange Line wasn't greatly affected.
