A fireplace on an MBTA bus that injured two staff final week within the Arborway Yard was seemingly brought on by a failed air conditioner compressor, in keeping with the company’s Deputy General Manager Jeffrey Gonneville.
Gonneville mentioned the bus was taken out of service as a result of it didn’t have functioning air-con, and caught hearth when it was parked within the Boston bus yard at roughly 3:15 p.m. on Aug. 4.
“The investigation for that is still preliminary, but we do feel very strongly that it was the result of an AC compressor that failed, and seized up on the vehicle,” he mentioned at an MBTA board assembly. “We did conduct a full fleet inspection of all of this style, this type of vehicle, and there were no other buses that have been found with this particular defect.”
Gonneville mentioned a extra detailed inspection is underway to resolve why the AC compressor failed, and to reply different questions the T has concerning the car and incident.
MBTA board member Bob Butler described the incident as “scary,” saying that the AC malfunction might occur once more with different T buses.
“That’s correct,” Gonneville mentioned. “I think we’re taking this issue very seriously.”
The bus driver and an MBTA inspector observed the smoke and flames as they had been strolling away from the parked car in Arborway Yard. The staff contacted the Boston Fire Department, which doused the flames after two T inspectors had been unable to take action previous to firefighter arrival, Gonneville mentioned.
“The bus operator and one of the inspectors were transported from the scene,” he mentioned. “The inspector, we believe, was for smoke inhalation. We are not aware of why exactly the operator was transported, but certainly it was obviously a result of this incident.”
Last week’s bus hearth is among the many security incidents that proceed to pile up for the beleaguered company.
On Friday evening, three Green Line buses froze within the tunnels between Hynes Convention Center and Kenmore stations, as a result of a “power problem,” at Kenmore. About 300 passengers had been evacuated from the three trains and had been walked again to 2 close by stations.
The Green Line incident occurred about two hours after the MBTA launched its Orange Line alternate transportation plan, only a week earlier than the complete subway line is about to close down for 30 days on Aug. 19. Days later, a piece of the Green Line may also shut down for 4 weeks.
The 30-day shutdown was introduced about two weeks after an Orange Line prepare burst into flames on a bridge over the Mystic River, leaving passengers kicking out home windows to flee, and one lady diving into the water under to get to security.
The hearth occurred after a metallic panel that runs alongside the aspect of the prepare “was peeled away from the car and ultimately bridged between the third rail, which is electrified, and the area of the train by the wheels that picks up that electrical current for the vehicles themselves,” Gonneville mentioned.
“That self-evacuation on the right of way is incredibly dangerous because there’s, in most cases, live third rail right outside of that particular area,” Gonneville mentioned.
There are levers on the prepare that permit passengers to evacuate from the inside of a prepare automobile, out of the ends of the automobile. The MBTA is contemplating a public data marketing campaign to tell commuters concerning the secure method to exit a prepare in case of emergencies, he mentioned.
The MBTA is beneath a security administration inspection by the Federal Transit Administration, which plans to launch its remaining report on the finish of the month.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”