Fire at MFL 5th Street Station disrupts Thursday afternoon commute

Thursday afternoon commuters trying to head west of the 5th Street Station on the Market Frankford Line were met with smoke in a fire that snarled train service and traffic above ground as handfuls of firefighters descended upon the area near Independence Hall.

Around 2:10 p.m., the Philadelphia Fire Department responded to a small debris fire reported on the third rail of the tracks, said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch. Initial reports suggested the cause might be debris that caught fire, which Busch said isn’t all that unusual.

“I don’t know yet specifically for this one, but it’s almost always trash of some type,” he said.

Sometimes it’s as small as a piece of paper that catches fire. It’s why SEPTA does overnight cleaning.

No injuries to staff or riders were immediately reported.

Due to the location of the fire on the rails, Busch said SEPTA had to turn off power, but because of the way the grid operates, the power is affected from Spring Garden to the 15th Street Station.

Firefighters reported the fire was out around 3 p.m., though SEPTA needed to inspect the track and give the all-clear for service to resume.

Busch said bus shuttles would be available to riders as an alternative until SEPTA had the all-clear and could resume service.