Reported Smoke Sends Fire Crews To Blue Line
UPDATED 03/04/11 6:40 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The CTA Blue Line cleared out on the Northwest Side early Friday, after a report of smoke in a subway tunnel.
Sometime before 6 a.m., the Fire Department sent several firefighters and five ambulances to the Belmont stop on the Blue Line.
A smoky smell was reported in the vicinity of an electrical room near the Belmont stop, CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reported.
When no smoke or fire was found, the fire response was called off. But fire crews and CTA emergency personnel remained on the scene, checking the tracks and platforms to make sure there was no danger and examining the electrical room.
It turned out there was no smoke, and the odor was only that of hot electrical equipment.
But the Blue Line was temporarily evacuated, and power was shut off between Sacramento and Kedvale avenues, Habermehl reported.
Bus shuttle service was placed in effect between the Montrose and California stops, according to the CTA. But power was restored by about 6:40 a.m.
At the height of the emergency, a crowd of people were gathered outside the entrance to the Belmont stop, located at Kimball Avenue, and fire trucks and other emergency vehicles surrounded the service drive around the subway station entrance.
