SAFETY IN THE SUBWAYS
STRATEGY & TACTICS
Firefighters in urban areas often find themselves operating in the dangerous environment of the subway tunnel. Knowing the types of fires and dangers you face underground will help you and the subway passengers remain safe.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION
One of the most important functions of operating personnel at the initial stages of a subway operation is to establish the communications link to the street with portable radios. This enables the incident commander to request additional help and keeps him informed of changing situations that require immediate attention, such as a request to cut power or a request for an ambulance.
In our subway system in New York City, our portable radio communications are poor from level to level. Communications in a straight line range from fair to poor. Some subway stations have multiple levels underground, which require additional portable radios. The objective is to keep radios within range of each other so we can communicate to grade level.
For a minor operation where power is not removed and members walk out on the catwalk to extinguish the fire with a portable fire extinguisher, the correct procedure is as follows: Wait for the arrival of a train in the station, notify the motorman that you are walking out on the catwalk, and instruct him to await your return. This procedure ensures that there will be no train movement on that particular track. As an incident increases in severity, members operate on the track bed itself, with the variables of instant power restoration, moving trains, and heavy smoke.
DON’T UNDERESTIMATE DANGERS
Every fire officer should check company members entering the tunnel to make sure that all straps on their SCBAs are fastened, that all members have a working light, that PASS devices are activated, and that there is one radio per search team. Members should never operate alone; a two-man search team is the minimum.
A safe and successful operation at a subway incident takes preplanning and know ledge of your response area. Know in advance the location of subway emergency exits and if access is available at subway passenger entrances at various hours.
A particularly dangerous situation arises when power is removed. Many firefighters are under the impression that once power is removed and confirmed off there will be no moving trains, but this is not the case. Motormen are instructed to coast their trains into the next station to deliver their passengers to the safety of a platform, where there is good lighting and access to the street. Keep in mind that trains can coast for considerable distances. Another misconception is that firefighters wearing rubber boots are somewhat protected against electrocution. However, carbon black, an ingredient in the boots, is a conductor of electricity.
The correct way to cross a third rail is to walk over the cover. The cover is not designed to support the weight of a person, and stepping on it can result in serious injury.
FIRE CONCERNS
Wheels and brake shoes on subway trains are made of steel. When brakes are applied on a train, there is metalto-metal contact that produces steel dust. Over many years this dust mixes with oil from passing trains. The dust adheres to walls, catwalks, track beds, and undercarriages of trains. Thus members should use eye protection-even for minor operations—as this dust is everywhere, and the minute particles of steel in the dust have been known to cause blindness.
On your arrival at a subway fire, if you see smoke coming from the subway grating and light smoke in the subway station, it is an indication that the fire is in the setback in the tunnel vent directly under the grating. During the summer the subway tunnel is considerably hotter than the temperature at grade level because of airconditioned trains. The heat in the cars is removed by the air-conditioners and deposited in the tunnel. Approximately 50 percent of the air in the tunnel is controlled by the moving trains. The trains act as pistons in an engine and push the air out of the grates as the trains move forward. The fresh air from the street level is drawn in the rear as the train passes the grates. Therefore, when power is removed, air exchange is reduced in the tunnel.
Photo by Frank Incantalupo.
Most station fires are minor—a rubbish fire in a trash receptacle, papers in railroad ties igniting, or overheated ballasts at station lights. These fires usually can be controlled by a hand extinguisher. Occasionally the fire will be under the platform. If this is the case, members should not be permitted in the track area unless
- the power is removed;
- the fire department dispatcher confirms power removal;
- members are posted at each end of the platform for safety; and
- an alternate area of refuge is avail-
- able in case of train movement.
If there is a train fire, you must first determine its location. If the fire is in the car itself, it may involve insulation under the seat, a door motor, a fan motor, light fixtures, or a smoldering rubbish fire of incendiary nature.
A fire outside the train may be in the motor, a switch relay, a journal box, or a hung-up brake shoe. Once the fire starts and ignites the aluminum body of the car, a serious fire situation will develop involving very acrid smoke and panicking civilians. There will be zero visibility in the tunnel. It may be a matter of life and death for members to recognize the location of
- emergency exits;
- the third rail, which has a wooden or fiberglass cover over it;
- the contact shoes of trains—the
- ones not on the third rail are also energized;
- “No clearance” signs; if you are standing in a “No clearance” area, a passing train will hit you, even if it seems as if it has clearance; and
- the switching area, where trains are routed from one track to another. A member who has a foot in this moving track will sustain serious injury.
CONTROLLING PANIC
Firefighters who enter the fire area have a better understanding that their way in is their way out. The people on the train, on the other hand, have no idea of how to get out, as they entered the system at a different point.
Picture a hot summer day at 5:30 p.m. and people packed in a subway train. The lights go out, the air-conditioning or fans shut down, and smoke starts to seep in through the windows and under the doors. There are elderly passengers on the train as well as a pregnant woman and a young mother with an infant. People look out the windows and see the black tunnel. There is a good chance that this scenario will incite panic. Even if the fire is minor, people will be distraught and fear for their safety.
You must reach the train and attempt to control the situation. First make contact with the motorman and see if the train’s intercom system works. If it does, have the conductor announce that the fire department is on the scene, the fire is being extinguished, and the situation will be under control shortly.
If the intercom system does not work, you still must make your presence known. It may be impossible to walk through the car because of the number of people. In this case, several members, walking either on catwalks or alongside the train, can reassure passengers.
One of the best ways to reduce panic is through lighting. There should be adequate light along the right of way and lighting at and close to where people are exiting the train. This will help people get their bearings: They can see how far they have gone from the train and how far they have to go to reach safety. Firefighters along the evacuation route should give encouragement and let people know the approximate distance to the exit.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Firefighters assigned to truck duties should consider using wooden or fiberglass hooks instead of halligan hooks. Use extreme caution with metal tools. All engine company personnel should be committed to getting the first hoseline into operation. This will be a difficult and time-consuming stretch. Members should be wellspaced from each other while stretching the hoseline. Do not start water until you are sure you have sufficient hose to reach the fire. Once this hoseline is charged, it will be almost impossible to move. Use an FT-2 or rubber-tipped fog nozzle to get the safety of a hollow stream over a solid stream in terms of conducting electricity and the effect of a fog stream for ventilation.
You might have to evacuate thousands of people. A number of them will suffer from heart disease, have respiratory problems, or be elderly, pregnant, or incapacitated. You will have to assist them over the road bed and up emergency exits.
People on the tracks while the power is on are in extreme danger of being electrocuted. Civilians may not recognize the third rail; they may be wandering in a daze, disoriented as to the location of the exits. You may have to set up trauma kits and resuscitators at strategic points along the evacuation route. Carry small children to the exit and physically hand them to their parents in a safe area.
Subway trains are a mass of transformers and relays, generators, switching equipment, and compressors. Some trains have air-conditioning with large amounts of freon. There is oil for wheel bearings and insulation for seats and wiring—all are very toxic when they burn. Batteries installed in subway cars for emergency lighting give off hydrogen gas, which is highly explosive. Most of you have experienced food-on-the-stove fires. When a fire in a subway car ignites the aluminum of the car, it’s like a huge aluminum pot burning. Toxic, irritating smoke will develop in a belowgrade area.
Always assume that the power is on, even if it is confirmed off. Power could instantly be restored at any time.
At subway incidents we must draw on a number of our talents simultaneously. We must attack the fire and at the same time evacuate passengers, prevent panic, and render first aid to those who need it—all the while keeping our own safety in mind.
