Monday, November 16, 2009

Update: Union Station evacuation due to exhaust fumes

Last Thursday night (Nov. 12) all travelers were evacuated from Union Station at the height of the evening commute for at least 25 minutes because of a fire alarm. At the time an official said there had been a fire though there was no evidence or smell of smoke.

Stuck on MARC has learned that the evacuation was related to a misshap with one of Amtrak's diesel engines. The engine- which may have been parked in a forbidden part of the station- expelled exhaust fumes into the ventallation system, which in turn flooded the baggage claim area inside the station, sending two Amtrak employees to the hospital.

It's unclear how the fumes got into the general boarding area but I've been told that the engine in question was awaiting attachment to a southbound train (i.e. Virginia, Carolinas, Florida) and was parked in a restricted area.

If you know more about this incident or if you smelled the exhaust fumes email us details at stuckonmarc@gmail.com.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: stuckonmarc@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:35:36
To: Stuckonmarc<stuckonmarc.10minslate@blogger.com>
Subject: Union Station being evacuated

The entire Union Station is being evacuated and trains are being held because of a fire alarm. A uniformed official said there was an actual fire, but he wouldn't give me more details. Peopele are calm if confcused. There's no smell or other evidence of smoke.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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