Eighteen commuters were injured Tuesday after being exposed to heavy smoke on a 1 train in Washington Heights that apparently struck debris near the third rail, it was reported.
Service on the line was suspended near the 191st Street station after the FDNY reported dense, brown smoke began pouring into the station at about 12:15 p.m. on Feb. 25.
“I saw a lot of smoke coming out and a lot of people looking,” a local deli worker told amNewYork Metro. “There were a lot of ambulances.”
Authorities say 12 units and some 60 fire and EMS personnel responded to the incident, finding at least 18 people in need of medical treatment due to smoke inhalation. Some were evaluated on scene while others were rushed to an area hospital — they are all expected to survive.
While the cause of the incident has not officially been determined, FDNY sources say they believe a train struck some kind of object on the track that collided with the third trail and sparked the smoke.
“I believe there was some damage to the tracks,” Assistant Chief Michael Woods said. “The train entered the station, made some kind of contact that then hit the third rail, creating sparks.”
Chief Woods underscored that there was no active fire in the station, just heavy smoke. Still, it called the incident a complex operation due to the tracks being so deep underground.
The 191st Street stop is located some 173 feet below street level, the deepest of any underground station in the subway system. Riders have to take elevators from the street-level entrance down to the mezzanine to reach the tracks.
The smoke was placed under control at approximately 1:50 p.m.
MTA sources report that the train struck metal debris denting the third rail, workers put a temporary shoe on it until it can be properly restored overnight.
1 train service resumed during the afternoon Tuesday.
