Fire on the Seattle Monorail

Smoke was pouring out of the southbound blue monorail as it was just on the south side of the Experience Music Project at 5:22 p.m.

Fire crews were able to successfully evacuate all of the passengers and the fire was reported under control around 5:30 p.m.

Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick says the monorail was full at the time of the fire. They checked out about 40 people on the ground for injuries and eight people and one firefighter were taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of smoke inhalation. They were expected to be OK.

Witnesses reported a metallic grinding for about 3-5 seconds as the train exited the tunnel through the EMP and then a loud explosion. They said smoke then started pouring out from beneath the train. People on board the train started moving to the front of the train and that's when the flames broke out.

People tried to get close to the ground and away from the flames. A short time later, monorail officials pulled up the second monorail train so people could evacuate to the red train. But one witness says the wind was blowing the smoke into the red train, so they abandoned that idea.

The fire department arrived a short time later and brought the fire under control. They then began evacuating passengers from the red and blue trains via ladder trucks.

Traffic along 5th Avenue near Broad Street and along Broad Street between John and 5th Avenue was blocked for the fire response.

Video from our photographers shows extensive damage to the blue monorail, with part of the floor and roof melted at part of one section.

"Mono" means "one,"

What was that thing going around when I was in high school?

Ya know.....

Cheerleader #1:I haven't seen Lisa at cheerleading practice for almost a week.
Cheerleader #2: I heard she has mono

I'm sure virtually all the riders are tourists. The Seattle World's Fair monorail only goes a mile. However...

Construction began in April of 1961 by Alweg Rapid Transit Systems, who received the bid when it offered to underwrite the entire cost of construction.
The monorail opened to the public on March 24, 1962 nearly one month before the start of the World's Fair. At a cost of $3.5 million, the trains carried more than eight million guests during the six months of the fair, easily paying for themselves. That is, the full initial capitol cost of the system was recovered and a profit was realized by ALWEG before the end of the fair.
Following the Fair, the monorail system was turned over to Century 21 Corporation at no cost. Century 21 sold the system to the City of Seattle in 1965 for $600,000.
Today, the trains carry approximately 2.5 million riders every year. The monorail has become an important fixture in Seattle for locals, who use the trains during major festivals and sporting events. Seattle Center Monorail is the nation's only fully self-sufficient public transit system.

This is one reason why I voted for the new monorail. (The other reason is, I hoped it would help drive a stake thru the real boondoggle that has no chance of helping easing traffic congestion: Light rail.) I haven't joined the recall movement ... yet.

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