Posted on 05/31/2004 7:31:10 PM PDT by steve86
Fire On The Seattle Monorail
May 31, 2004
By KOMO Staff
SEATTLE - A fire broke out on the Seattle Center Monorail late Monday evening.
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.
One of those photos sure is suggestive of an internal explosion...
Another article...
Riders shaken when fire breaks out on Seattle Monorail
07:10 PM PDT on Monday, May 31, 2004
From KING5.com Staff
Photo
Passengers are evacuated via ladder.
SEATTLE - A fire broke out in the engine compartment of the Seattle Monorail on Monday afternoon. The fire happened just outside the Experience Music Project, the rock 'n' roll music museum at Seattle Center, which was the site this holiday weekend of the annual Folklife Festival.
Firefighters used ladders to evacuate dozens of passengers, some of whom were treated for smoke inhalation.
The monorail has two trains, the blue train and the red train. The fire was on the blue train.
A rider said there was a popping sound and the train stopped.
"We managed to get the safety locks open and open all the doors to get some ventilation," said one rider. "For a while it was pretty scary there 'cause it was getting warm and the smoke was getting thick ... and there's all of us with babies on there."
Helen Fitzpatrick of the Seattle Fire Department said there were no serious injuries.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The monorail was built for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair to provide a link between the fairgrounds and the amenities downtown.
The trains carry approximately 2.5 million riders every year.
Officials said the Monorail will be shut down indefinitely.
Is there a chance the track could bend?
Not on your life, my Hindu friend!
Monorail! Monorail! Monorail!
Hindu friend???
My sister works at the EMP. Hmmm, will find out more info.
There ain't no monorail here, and there never was!
Patty Murray-mom w/tennis shoes on scene to discuss OBL-funded daycare.
"Were you sent here by the devil?"
What about us brain dead slobs?
Great Screen name
explosion?
ha
Monorail is the rail or the train that rides on it?
The trains carry approximately 2.5 million riders every year.
Officials said the Monorail will be shut down indefinitely.
Well, that's interesting. The population of the Seattle-Belleview-Everett metro area is about 2.5 million, and that of the Seattle-Tacoma Puget Sound Region is about 4.4 million. So, even using the more compact metro boundary, the average citizen rides this train once a year (surely much less, as tourists no doubt account for much of the ridership). I wonder how much the taxpayers have shelled out to keep this boondoggle rolling along for 42 years, and what percent of the operating costs are carried by the fares.
The Monorail will be shut down "indefinitely," and I'll bet the impact of that will approach nil. Urban rail -- taking people from where they aren't to where they don't want to go since the 19th Century, all the while picking the taxpayers' pockets. Will anyone in the Emerald City have the guts to step up and propose that this silly toy be shut down not just indefinitely, but forever? No, I don't expect so.
When I rode the monorail there, I think I was the only one on the entire train.
In Seattle's vernacular it refers to both the train itself and the whole system (i.e. train and track).
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