By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Editor
Like so many calls, details were initially scarce and even contradictory. Just after 5 p.m. Monday, DC Fire and EMS responded to what was first thought to be a relatively small incident.
But to the first arriving companies, the magnitude of the incident quickly became apparent — the deadliest accident in the history of the D.C. Metro train system.
“The first battalion chief on scene called in multiple casualties, so that enacted a mass casualty response and we were able to step things up,” said Billy Hayes, EFO, director of public information and community affairs at the department.
Nine people were killed and more than 70 people were taken to hospitals when one Metro train slammed into the rear of another in the rush-hour collision.
A large crane was brought to the scene to separate mangled pieces of wreckage to enable firefighters to search for victims. Mutual aid requests were also sent out to four neighboring departments.
Hayes, a FireRescue1 columnist, said the department worked swiftly once the scale of the incident — and what had actually happened — became established.
The initial dispatch was to Takoma Park station for a possible metro train derailment, Hayes said, but within a couple of minutes another call was dispatched that said it was Ft. Totten station.
“We knew it had to be somewhere in between so we worked our way outwards to inwards,” he said.
“If the accident had happened in one of the tunnels, it would’ve been a much different and more difficult operation with a number of fatalities that could have been higher. If there was a silver lining in any of this, that was it.”
The department worked quickly with other agencies to shut down metro traffic on the tracks and ensure electricity was cut off from nearby train lines to allow responders to work safely.
Hayes said the front train car carrying passengers collapsed like “an accordion” to around one-third its original size during the impact, with firefighters having to de-layer to gain access to the people inside.
The sheer number of patients at the incident scene was a challenge, according to Hayes, but one that highlighted the benefits of triage.
“Arriving companies found multiple passengers with injuries, some walking, while there were others who were critically injured and of course some fatalities,” Hayes said.
“This was the kind of incident scene which is exactly what triage is for. Within two hours, all patients at the scene had been transported due to our triage system. Throughout the entire operation, we kept to the procedures that we have in place and this ensured everything worked for us.”
Crews — aided by confined space cameras — worked throughout the night and into the following morning to remove victims from the crash, even when it became apparent the situation had switched from a rescue to a recovery operation, Hayes said.
The department was able to turn over its command at the scene to transport safety investigators at 1 p.m., Tuesday.
“It was a huge incident but DC Fire and EMS is a well trained, professional organization, and this is what our firefighters, EMTs and paramedics are trained for,” Hayes said.
“By the way this incident was handled over the past 24 hours, you can tell this training paid off and the dedication of our employees shone through.”
A federal investigator told The Associated Press on Tuesday that an old train involved in the crash should have been replaced because of safety concerns.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash and whether age played a role in the collision, according to reports.