Not Terrorism, just operational lameness (subtitle: I was already at work when this happened)
SF BART passengers evacuated after fire
Steve Rubenstein, Bernadette Tansey and Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writers
Thursday, March 9, 2006 now part of stylesheet -->


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(03-09) 11:12 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- BART and Muni Metro riders endured lengthy delays this morning because of a trash fire that started on the BART tracks near the Embarcadero station just before 9:30 a.m., authorities said.
Full BART service between the East Bay to San Francisco resumed about 11:10 a.m., but the Embarcadero station remained closed, BART officials said. There was no word from Muni on when Metro service would be resumed.
Three people were treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation after the fire broke out on the eastbound BART tracks between the Embarcadero and Montgomery stations, officials said.
BART said a train operator spotted the debris fire at 9:28 a.m. about 150 feet from the Embarcadero station, tried to put it out himself and then helped some passengers evacuate into a station. Firefighters put out the fire in about 10 minutes.
"There was a lot of smoke, and it was hard to walk, but everybody was calm," said Gilda Mendez, a San Francisco resident who was a passenger on a train that stopped in the tunnel. "It was very scary and hard to see."
She exited the train and walked through the tunnel to the Embarcadero station, where she began to have trouble breathing. After paramedics gave her oxygen, she felt better and was released.
Basil Yaqub, manager of the Eat Cetera restaurant in front of the Embarcadero station, said people had hurried up the stairs as smoke poured out the entrance. "They weren't panicking, but they sure were running," he said.
Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White showed up at the scene and said the incident was good training for the department.
"On everyone's mind is Madrid and London, but thankfully that's not what we have here," she said.
Market Street was closed for a time between Davis and Montgomery streets, but police reopened it shortly before 11 a.m.
BART set up a bus bridge between the West Oakland and Powell Street stations while service was shut down.
"This is really hard, but it's not anybody's fault. It's beyond anyone's control," said Jody Michaels, a book editor who was stranded in Oakland. "Most of the time BART is good at being on time, but you've got to expect there will be occasional problems."
T.J. Jones said she was going to be late for her constitutional law class at Golden Gate University.
"It seems like the serious times when I really need to be there on time that something happens," she said.
- posted by k @ 11:22 AM