BART, Muni Resume Service After Fire

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 24, 2007 (KGO) (KGO) -- BART and Muni have resumed service after an electrical fire at San Francisco's Embarcadero station.

All systems appear to have worked, as firefighters responded quickly with a lot of equipment. Muni is also credited for evacuating passengers from the train and Embarcadero station. No one was hurt.

Firefighters responded to the first alarm at 1:47. Through the thick smoke, they could see flames on top of a Muni car stopped at the platform.

"We got up to the station, and it was really smoky and just not pleasant to smell at all," said Muni rider Claire Furlotte.

"It was like all this smoke. I said let's go back on the elevator and go up because we have baby in the stroller," said Muni rider Sylvia Reyes.

"We used a PA system, and as you know we have a full-time agent in the kiosk, and she or he always assists guiding people out. There was no panic. No one was hurt. It went the way it was supposed to go," said Muni spokesman Murray Bond.

Muni closed the station, stopping all of its trains, while firefighters put out the fire with carbon dioxide. BART was allowed to continue, but had to bypass Embarcadero station.

Firefighters then determined the cause of the fire.

"The fire started at the air conditioning unit of the roof of the train. Produced some smoke, few flames," said Bond.

At 2:40, the Muni car was pulled out of the tunnel. Five minutes later, Embarcadero station opened to the public. Outbound Muni traffic was stopped while firefighters finished mopping up the platform.

At 3:45, the station was back to normal again, with all outbound trains permitted to stop. There may be some residual backup.

It's important to note that there was never a fire in the car, just on top of the car, where the air conditioning unit was located.

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