Fire Hits SEPTA R5 Train In Overbrook

A SEPTA R5 train caught fire in Philadelphia's Overbrook section Wednesday morning, causing about 250 people to be evacuated.

Some of the passengers jumped to safety out windows, and firefighters rushed to put out the flames after the blaze broke out shortly after 7 a.m.

All passengers and crew got off the train safely.

Slideshow: Images Of SEPTA Train Fire | Video s:  Passenger Interviews | Fire Aftermath

Philadelphia, of course, is in day two of a mass transit strike that affects buses and subways, but not trains.

Service on the Paoli/Thorndale(R5) and Cynwyd(R6) was suspended due to the fire, but those Regional Rail lines went back into service about two hours later.

Around 6:50 a.m., the crew had reported a burning odor coming from the lead car. All passengers on the car were evacuated into the three other cars on the train, and the train was to continue to 30th Street Station and then taken out of service, say SEPTA officials.

The engineer then reported heavy smoke aboard the train, and a full evacuation was immediately ordered. Within minutes, the lead car was fully engulfed in flames. A nearby R6 train was also safely unboarded.

Flames could be seen shooting from the front of the train shortly after 7 a.m. A big cloud of smoke also billowed from the train.

Describing what he saw Wednesday morning, R5 passenger Stew Griest said of the train, "All of the sudden it stopped and, again, nothing was said. Then, we started seeing some smoke rolling out of the first car. And then someone said, 'Pop the windows.'"

That's when the lead car suddenly burst into flames.

"I was right next to an emergency window, popped it, pulled the seam around it, pushed it out," Griest said.

"We jumped out of the window and then started helping people out. And we had people from all ages. We had a 94-year-old gentleman, and he just, you know, was not sure what was going on, but we got him out."

He said of the more than 200 passengers who managed to get out safely, "You could see some people were a bit frazzled. Some were like, 'Take me first.' But we got everybody out."

The fire was reported around 7:08 a.m. and contained around 7:30 a.m.

SEPTA says the electrical fire on the 44-year-old train may have started in a heater or traction engine.

Jim Jordan, an assistant general manager for SEPTA, said the regional rail car that caught fire was about 40 years old, one of many slated to be replaced soon. The origin of the blaze was probably in the heating or electrical system, Jordan said, and the entire fleet will be inspected once the cause is determined.

SEPTA officials say there is no indication the fire was intentionally set – and the incident is in no way connected to the current strike by the Transport Workers Union Local 234 involving SEPTA transit workers.

“It is an accidental fire,” Jordan said. "The fire is in no way suspicious. It is in no way related to any job action by TWU Local 234."

Adding to the chaos was that the fire then halted all traffic along the tracks near 54th Street and Lancaster Avenue. It also forced officials to scramble for school buses to transport the stranded commuters to 30th Street Station so they could get to their final destinations.

Griest wound up hitching his own ride.

Some passengers said they saw the smoke initially coming from heater vents on the right-front side of the train.

The train in question was put in service in 1965. There are 50 other trains like that still in service that will be inspected, say officials.

Some thought the timing was interesting because of the SEPTA strike, but officials said it was nothing more than mere Murphy's Law.