40 SEPTA buses damaged in fire at bus yard in Nicetown section of Philadelphia
A three-alarm fire that engulfed multiple SEPTA buses at a yard in the Nicetown section of Philadelphia on Thursday is now under control, but lingering smoke could impact air quality.
The buses caught fire at the agency's Midvale depot located off Roberts Avenue, around 6:15 a.m. SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said all of the buses had been decommissioned and were in the process of being sold or scrapped.
Sauer said among the 40 damaged buses, 15 of them were electric.
"When the buses are fully decommissioned, all the fuel and lubricants are removed," Sauer said. "Batteries are removed and drained. There were buses in the process of being decommissioned that still had fuel."
The buses that caught fire were "getting ready to go to the scrap heap," Andrew Busch, SEPTA's director of communications, said.
"As far as we know right now, none of our in-service buses are in the vicinity or threatened by this," Busch said.
Smoke from the fire was visible across the city, and residents nearby were urged to stay in their homes and avoid the smoke as much as possible. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health reported that early tests revealed high levels of pollutants.
"We know that the air is still not entirely safe," Health Commissioner Dr. Palak Raval-Nelson said. "That is why my recommendation as health commissioner is for residents to stay away from the area of the fire."
The Philadelphia Department of Health continues to monitor the air quality in the area, and data collected in the evening had much lower levels of pollutants, a spokesperson said in an update just before 10 p.m. Thursday. The pollutants remain below federal limits, and health officials expect them to continue to drop, the update says. The department still recommends residents stay out of the area and, if they are nearby, advises them to stay inside and keep windows closed "out of an abundance of caution."
No injuries have been reported. The fire was placed under control just after 8 a.m., according to the Philadelphia Fire Department.
Over 150 firefighters responded to the incident, Assistant Chief Charles Walker said.
There were challenges getting access to the yard and running lines to transport water to areas where it was needed. SEPTA workers helped move some buses that were not involved in the fire out of the way to make room for firefighters, Walker said.
The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
