The Eastern Market Metro station was closed for several hours Thursday afternoon after an arcing insulator alarmed passengers by causing a loud noise and billowing smoke, authorities said.
Medics evaluated nine patients for smoke inhalation, including one person who was taken to a hospital. In a statement, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said there did not appear to be any life-threatening injuries.
Video posted to social media showed heavy, slightly yellow smoke pouring from the platform and over the entrance gates to the station. A few people could be seen running or walking quickly to exit the station and head up the escalators.
No cause of the smoke could be seen in the video. Although the person who posted the video called it an "explosion," officials have not said an explosion occurred.
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D.C. Fire and EMS said in a statement that an insulator on fire underneath a railcar caused the loud noise and smoke that alarmed passengers on the platform. The fire has been extinguished and exhaust fans were turned on in the station, D.C. Fire said.
Gregory Pittman, a passenger on the train, captured video on his phone of sparks outside the car.
"You could see the sparks and you could hear it and everything. It was like it was coming from under the train and the tracks," Pittman said. "It was like something was sparking under there, and it was popping real loud. So that's basically how the trip was from Stadium-Armory until we got to Potomac Avenue."
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According to WMATA, an assembly box on the side of the train, which was a 7000-series train, came loose and was rubbing against the third rail. The third rail is the electrified line running along the track, which provides power to Metro trains.
When that happened, electricity began to arc from the "third rail shoe assembly," which is the part of the train that connects to that electrified track, WMATA said. That likely led to the fire and smoke.
When they got to Eastern Market, Pittman says he pulled an emergency handle on the train, and the doors opened inside the station.
The train did not derail at any point in the process, and the arcing is not a known fleet-wide issue, but "inspections continue," WMATA said.
D.C. Fire and WMATA were working to ventilate the Eastern Market station, D.C. Fire said.
Former ANC 4DC04 commissioner Zach Israel posted a photo of a robust response by police and firefighters outside the Eastern Market station. Several police cars can be seen around the station entrance in the photo, including one parked on the sidewalk in a traffic median. A fire truck can also be seen in the photo.
Rail service on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines was suspended temporarily from Federal Center to Stadium-Armory, according to D.C. Fire. Pennsylvania Avenue was closed to the public, News4's Paul Wagner reported.
Trains single-tracked before full service resumed about 4:30 p.m.
