Cause of massive fire at SEPTA bus depot found: officials

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Cause of massive fire at SEPTA bus depot found: officials

The Brief

SEPTA says a battery on one of the electric buses sparked the huge blaze at the SEPTA bus depot in Nicetown.

A massive fire erupted at SEPTA’s largest bus depot on Thursday, damaging 40 decommissioned buses.

NICETOWN – After a huge fire broke out at SEPTA’s largest bus depot in Nicetown on Thursday, officials have determined a cause for the fire.

What we know

A spokesperson for SEPTA stated that the Philadelphia Fire Department said a battery in one of the electric buses set off the massive fire Thursday at their largest bus depot, in Philly’s Nicetown neighborhood.

Residents living near the bus depot were urged to stay indoors while firefighters fought the blaze, due to air quality concerns.

Philly’s Health Department gave the all-clear for air quality on Friday.

The backstory

Firefighters were called to the Midvale SEPTA Bus Depot around 6 a.m. after employees reported a fire in the decommissioned bus lot.

Investigators said the fire reached 3-alarms and torched about 40 buses, many that haven’t been used in years, including former electric buses.

SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said the lot is used to store 100 buses that have been or are in the process of being decommissioned. He provided some insight into the decommission process, saying the buses’ batteries are disconnected, and the mechanical fluid is drained.

16 of the burned buses are electric, made by the Proterra Company. SEPTA is battling in court in part over an earlier fire. SEPTA said the nine remaining electric buses at the depot are going away.

Big picture view

Meanwhile, the Health Dept. said the fire caused a rise in the amount of particulate matter, both PM 2.5 and PM 10, and released benzene, ethylbenzene, and carbon monoxide into the air. The levels of those pollutants were recorded at their highest point in the early morning on Thursday, June 5, while the fire was still burning.

Those levels were reduced once the fire was brought under control, though residents were not advised to resume normal activities until Friday afternoon.

No other details were released about the battery.

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