In the afternoon of February 15, plumes of smoke emanated from a metro station in Washington, DC, leading to a chaotic evacuation as people hurriedly exited the premises. Panic ensued as a fire erupted beneath one of the train cars, originating from the insulator. The official social media account of the DC Fire and Emergency Services Agency conveyed this information at the specified time. Responding promptly, firefighters swiftly arrived at the Eastern Market Metro station, successfully extinguishing the flames. The fire department reported that, fortunately, none of the nine individuals affected sustained injuries during the incident, with only one of them being transported to the hospital. The fire department emphasized in the X Post that there were no reported injuries at that moment.
Following this, Metro issued a statement addressing the situation. A preliminary investigation unveiled that the cause of the incident was related to the bends in the third-rail "shoe," responsible for connecting power to the train cars. An update from Metro's official communication stated, "Update: A fire occurred beneath a railcar at the station. The fire has been extinguished, and our staff is currently working on ventilation. Eight patients were assessed, and one of them has been admitted to the hospital."According to reports from the Washington Post, service disruptions affected the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines between Federal Center SW and Stadium-Armory stations due to the incident.