Smoke filled Bowdoin Station on the MBTA’s Blue Line Sunday morning, but it wasn’t due to aging trains or an equipment malfunction—it was part of a multi-agency response drill.
Boston Fire and Boston Police practiced responding to several different safety scenarios in the station. The station was closed to the public for several hours from Bowdoin to Government Center and reopened after noon.
Boston Deputy Fire Chief Joe McMahon said there are a lot of variables to consider when rescuing people from the train station.
"You're walking on a ballast on the rail-head, you've got third-rail power issues," McMahon said. "Some of the people might evacuate up through a hatchway, which is a very narrow stairway. It's old, it's dark, difficult." Heather, of the 20 volunteers, had to pretend to be hurt to make the drill as realistic as possible.