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Nineteen hurt after Chicago subway fire
By BNO News
CHICAGO (BNO NEWS) -- Nineteen people were injured after a fire broke out in the Chicago subway near Chicago Station on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
Emergency services responded at 4.58 p.m. local time to a report of smoke in the subway. When firefighters arrived at the scene they encountered heavy smoke coming from railroad ties which caught fire.
A 2-11 alarm and a second-level emergency medical plan was eventually called, sending more than 100 firefighters and 10 ambulances to the scene.
It took the firefighters one hour before the blaze was extinguished, according to Richard Rosado, a spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department. He said nineteen people sustained non-life threatening injuries, mostly from smoke inhalation, and were transported to area hospitals. Five people, however, were in a serious-to-critical condition.
CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski said power was cut off to the Red Line at 5.10 p.m., and said trains are being re-routed to the elevated tracks between Fullerton and Cermak-Chinatown.
"The Chicago Fire Department is on scene and is inspecting the tracks," Hosinski said.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
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