Photo by Rolenz.
After yesterday’s fatal Metro incident at the L’Enfant Plaza station—wherein one woman died and dozens of others were hospitalized after a malfunction caused the tunnel to fill with smoke—numerous questions remain.
What exactly caused the electrical malfunction? How can Metro passengers ride and feel comforted knowing something this won’t happen again? And, was the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services’ response time to the incident a lot slower than it should have been?
Those were the main questions mayor Muriel Bowser faced at a press conference addressing yesterday’s incident. But Bowser, along with a number of other local officials, couldn’t provide any detailed answers. “Residents deserve a safe, and reliable Metro system, Bowser said. “Will work with regional partners in Virginia and Maryland to make that happen.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into what exactly went wrong yesterday and, while at the moment the best possible answer is that an “electrical arcing event” on the third rail caused the incident, it could be weeks, or even months, until there’s a definitive answer.
Bowser said that she won’t comment on yesterday’s incident until after the NTSB completes their investigation.
But apart from the cause of the incident, which killed one woman—identified as 61-year-old Carol Glover of Alexandria—many are wondering what wrong with theconfusing and chaotic response from emergency responders. There have been reports that it took firefighters more than 40 minutes before they could evacuate passengers, while other reports said that their communication radios were malfunctioning and they had to use cell phones to communicate in the tunnel.
“Our fire department responded within the time frames that are customary,” Bowser said in response to the numerous questions from reporters about the reports of a lengthy response time.
But despite yesterday’s incident, Bowser assured reporters that Metro’s safety is getting better. “I think the safety culture has dramatically improved,” she said. “It is shocking and so disappointing we’ve had this failure.” Bowser joined Metro Board in 2009 shortly after the deadly Red Line crash near Fort Totten.
In a statement, Metro Board Chair Tom Downs said that they agency is “actively cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board investigation that is now underway.” He added that “this will be a thorough process that often takes time, and we understand that passengers want answers quickly. Please know that once the cause of this incident is understood, we are prepared to take the actions needed to prevent this from happening again.”
