UPDATE: PATCO Service Restored After Camden Fire Causes Shutdown

UPDATE, 7:22 p.m.: PATCO trains are running on a full schedule again.

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A raging eight-alarm fire in Camden this afternoon has led to the suspension of PATCO Hi-Speed Line rail service to South Jersey.

The smoky blaze at Chestnut and Orchard streets is near elevated rail lines that transport thousands of commuters from Philadelphia to towns in South Jersey such as Collingswood, Haddonfield and nearby Lindenwold.  

Delaware River Port Authority spokesman Ed Kasuba said all service was halted shortly after 6:30 p.m. Kasuba said the Camden fire marshal at 6:10 p.m. asked that electrical power be cut to the tracks until the fire is brought under control.  

Commuters are stranded until the service is restored, Kasuba said. Train service was running from Lindenwold west to Ferry Avenue and from 16th and Locust to Broadway in Camden before the total shutdown. The DRPA, which operates the light-rail service, was trying to get buses from NJ Transit to transport its stranded commuters, but that effort stopped when the service was completely shutdown.