Poor communication and incident management have caused problems for Metro during past emergencies and a new audit from the Metrorail Safety Commission demands changes.

The 74-page report released Tuesday says the transit agency has improved on some emergency preparedness issues after a 2015 incident when a train filled with smoke and caused the death of one woman and sickened dozens of others, but that it still has work to do.

“This audit also demonstrates that there are many critical areas where Metrorail is not meeting its own written requirements, does not have adequate procedures, processes or requirements, or does not have adequate training, coordination, and supervision,” reads the report. It adds that Metro must make corrective action plans for the 14 findings.

Not responding to emergencies in a safe, organized way puts people — including passengers and first responders — at risk, the Commission says.

For instance, passengers self-evacuated off Red Line trains during incidents in 2020 and 2021 because Transit Police didn’t respond quickly enough and Metro didn’t communicate with passengers, said the Commission.

“There was confusion related to the incident command structure and process, calls to the Office of Unified Communications (Washington, D.C.’s public safety answering point that handles 911 calls) were not made clearly and in a timely fashion, and Metrorail spent excessive time troubleshooting or otherwise working on alternative plans for resolving the emergencies,” the report states. “This left customers stranded for extended periods and contributed to self-evacuations.”

The report also calls for a more streamlined incident management approach and for Metrorail to use the same technical language as other local first responders. For example, that means not using internal Metrorail terms like “roadway” to refer to the trackbed, which may confuse emergency responders and delay services.

“Metrorail does not consistently follow the incident command system (ICS) structure and has procedures that do not comply with National Incident Management System (NIMS)/ICS requirements, such as the use of plain language,” the report says.

Among the other findings:

• Metro doesn’t make effective 911 calls. The report said the calls are “inconsistent, incomplete and contribute to delayed or ineffective emergency response.”
• Not all Metro Transit Police were properly trained to work in the track areas, causing safety issues for themselves and for riders. The Commission said officers need to develop an emergency response checklist.
• Metrorail created an Incident Management Official “without documented training, responsibilities, communication, or coordination, and without adequate staffing.” The report says many within Metro and in local emergency response agencies didn’t know the responsibilities of that role in emergency situations.
• The system had many expired fire extinguishers and station medical equipment covered in dirt. The Commission says Metro has no one tracking and maintaining the equipment.
• Metro doesn’t include fire and safety experts in the planning processes for some projects.

Metro spokesperson Ian Jannetta outlined a few inaccuracies in the WMSC report and said: “While we are disappointed that the report does not include factual corrections, we are undertaking recommended actions,” he said. “Our new Office of Emergency Preparedness includes seasoned professionals and we are making good progress on enhancing Metro’s prevention, planning, and response to emergencies.”

Metro has 30 days to respond to the findings and come up with corrective action plans that must be approved by the Commission.