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By JOSHUA ROBIN AND CURTIS L. TAYLOR
STAFF WRITERS; Staff writers Carl MacGowan and John Valenti contributed to this of thousands of commuters were stranded yesterday when a fire in a tunnel underneath the East River forced the evacuation of Penn Station during the evening rush, creating chaos and suspending trains on three major lines, officials said.
The fire, which began when a transformer exploded in a tunnel linking Queens and Manhattan, created cancellations or delays of Long Island Rail Road trains, as well as New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains along the Eastern Seaboard. It was not yet clear yesterday if the fire would cause disruptions in today's service.
The fire also created problems on the E line, where overcrowding and delays were reported on trains headed to Jamaica Center.
"It's going to be a nightmare," said Maria Malino, 34, a producer for a Manhattan advertising agency, when told she would have to take the subway to Jamaica for the LIRR.
"Everyone and their mother is going to go to Jamaica," said Malino, who decided to stay with a friend in Forest Hills last night rather than return to her Massapequa home. "It's going to take forever to go home."
Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) said the fire should alert transportation officials to the need for safety improvements in the nation's largest commuter railroad. The tunnels that run under the East and Hudson rivers serve about 250,000 riders a day. "This was not a major fire, and look at how it paralyzed us," King said.
Delays, cancellations
The fire began at 1 p.m. in one of Amtrak's four tunnels under the East River, forcing officials to cancel 100 trains. By 4 p.m., the station had reopened with limited Amtrak and NJ Transit service. The LIRR resumed limited service at 6:37 p.m., officials said.
Despite the delays, several passengers were not bothered.
Kelly Lobdell was resigned to the trip home to Huntington. "Whatever happens, happens," Lobdell said.
In Jamaica, supervisors shouted instructions through bullhorns to confused commuters.
Brian Dolan, a spokesman for the LIRR, said there were 30-minute delays for trains leaving Brooklyn, Jamaica, Hunts Point and Woodside.
He said the railroad implemented its emergency action plan to deal with overcrowding.
"We will work with Amtrak to assess the damage that the fire did to the power and signal system to get a better idea of what the morning rush hour will be like," Dolan said.
New Jersey Transit rerouted its Midtown Direct trainsto Hoboken, spokesman Dan Stessel said. New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line and Northeast Corridor trains were terminating at Secaucus and Newark. Passengers were told to take PATH trains to and from Newark. Stephen O'Rourke, who was standing near 33rd Street and First Avenue, where an Amtrak ventilation unit is situated, said he heard two explosions shortly after 1 p.m.
Getting fire under control
Officials said fire erupted a short time later in the tunnel under the NYU Medical Center's Wollman Pavillion.
"It appears that it's an electrical fire," said Howard Hill, an assistant deputy fire chief.
He said the fire apparently started 90 feet underground at the base of a steep spiral staircase in a "difficult area to reach."
About 70 firefighters responded to the scene where Purple K, a chemical compound that is used to snuff out electrical fires in tunnels, was used. The fire was extinguished by 5:25 p.m., Hill said.
"The biggest problem was shutting down power to everything to figure out where the fire was and to make sure it was safe for our guys to get down there," said Tim Hinchey, a Fire Department spokesman.
Traffic snarled to a crawl along First Avenue and surrounding streets as the smell of burning wires permeated the area. A second fire in an electrical room on tracks near a Penn Station entrance at 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue was quickly extinguished, Hinchey said.
Five people who suffered minor smoke inhalation were treated and released from St. Vincent's Hospital Midtown, Hinchey said. Three firefighters were also injured, with two being treated at the scene and released. The third was treated at New York Hospital.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said a preliminary investigation centered on two wires that may have crossed and sparked the transformer fire.
Fire in the hole
Ninety Long Island Rail Road trains carrying 100,000 passengers usually run between Manhattan and the Island every day between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Yesterday, those passengers along with hundreds of others from Amtrak and N.J. Transit were stuck when service was suspended.
What happened?
Transformer exploded around 1 p.m. in Amtrak tunnel under the East River. LIRR, Amtrak and N.J. Transit service was suspended while firefighters tried to get to the fire, while Penn Station was evacuated.
Is service affected today?
Penn Station reopened just after 4 p.m., when Amtrak and N.J. Transit resumed limited service. At 6:37 p.m., LIRR restored some service. But the LIRR warned of delays of up to 20 minutes this morning, as well as possible diversions to Brooklyn and Jamaica.
What caused the fire?
According to Amtrak, two wires that should not come into contact did so, causing a spark or a short.
Who's in charge of the tunnel?
The railroad's four tunnels are owned, operated and maintained by Amtrak; two tunnels are used exclusively by the LIRR, which shares use of the other two tunnels with Amtrak.
WHAT A TRANSFORMER DOES
CURRENT
1 Electrical currents leave power plants at very high voltage - hundreds of thousands of volts - in order to travel long distances over power lines
TRANSFORMER
2 Current enters a transformer and travels through a series of coils to step down the current's power.
CURRENT
3 The voltage is reduced to a level for practical use.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc
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