L train commuters already dreading the looming L-pocalypse were subjected to another unwelcome development this morning when service between Brooklyn and Manhattan was shut down due an electrical fire between the First Avenue and Bedford Avenue stops that forced evacuations and filled the subway tunnel with smoke.
The condition was first reported at 9:20AM and there are no reported injuries as yet. The FDNY press office tells us that the fire was extinguished at 10:41AM and that the cause is under investigation. Service remains suspended between Eighth Avenue and Lorimer Street, and an MTA spokesperson said that a timeframe for restored service is not yet available.
A few Twitter users claiming that they were on a train in the tunnel during the fire posted harrowing accounts:
Lady on the L train as it was filling w smoke btwn the Bedford & 1st Ave stops yelled "we need to pull the brake" and we all yelled "NO!!"
— Lucy Ruth Cummins (@lucyruth) October 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/whatshefound/status/784024935555600384
FDNY activity is underway on both sides of the East River and thousands of commuters are off to a rough start to the day:
#Ltrain this AM. #fdny on the scene smoke seen and reported pic.twitter.com/1Zs03puW9P
— jason pacheco (@pachecotweets) October 6, 2016
Fire on the L train at 1st Ave. Firefighters headed in. pic.twitter.com/V5sH0sGQ4o
— Ian Bonaparte (is on paternity leave) (@ianbonaparte) October 6, 2016
The infuriating part of today's L train fail: the sign at turnstile reels you in with no mention of shutdown. pic.twitter.com/Ejk8zQjsPP
— Pat Kiernan (@patkiernan) October 6, 2016
Follow the NYPD Transit L Train account and the MTA Subway account on Twitter for service updates.