Orange Line Train Catches Fire, Woman Jumps Out Window Into River

SOMERVILLE, MA — About 200 passengers were on board an MBTA train when it caught fire Thursday morning on the bridge over the Mystic River in Somerville. The panic caused passengers to kick out the windows in an effort to escape, and one person even jumped off the bridge into the river below, the MBTA said.

Video posted to Twitter shows outside one of the train's cars where the chaos shows passengers climbing out of a window and jumping onto the tracks below. Another video posted to Twitter shows inside the car, where frantic passengers are shoving each other and screaming trying to fit out the window.

According to the MBTA, one of the trains caught fire just around 6:45 a.m. as it was approaching Assembly Station, producing heavy smoke from the front of the train as it stopped on Dana Bridge.

"Smoke was observed on the head car of a southbound train approaching Assembly Station," the MBTA said in a statement. "Power was turned off between Wellington and Assembly and the Somerville Fire Department responded."

The MBTA said the woman who jumped from the bridge declined medical attention, and there were no other injuries to report.

Shuttle buses will be replacing service between Oak Grove and Community College, the MBTA said. All Haverhill Line Commuter Rail trains will make additional stops at Oak Grove station until further notice.

The Federal Transit Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified of the incident. The MBTA Track and Power departments are inspecting the infrastructure.

This incident comes in the wake of an investigation from the FTA which flagged the MBTA for safety features, ordering the MBTA to take "immediate action."

The FTA's investigation began back in May after the agency told the MBTA they were "extremely concerned with the ongoing safety issues" following the death of a Red Line passenger who was dragged for at least 100 feet before succumbing to his injuries.

In order to keep transit riders in the Boston area from avoiding the MBTA subway, the FTA issued these actions to provide a system-wide measure to fix longstanding issues with the agency's overall safety program.

The FTA's inspection found that the MBTA's Operations Control Center is "not appropriately staffed" thus creating "an increased safety risk."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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