Fire in Amtrak crew car delays passenger train

10/20/2004

PORT CLINTON - Fire broke out in the crew dorm car of an Amtrak passenger train headed east from Toledo early yesterday, but no one was injured seriously, and the train resumed its journey after a three-hour delay.

Employees in the dorm car saw smoke and tripped the Lake Shore Limited's emergency brake about 2:05 a.m., bringing the train to a stop near Gypsum, Ohio, in Ottawa County, 37 miles east of Toledo.

After the dorm car and the passenger car ahead of it in the train were evacuated, the engines uncoupled the rest of the train from those cars and pulled ahead while several local fire departments responded to the call.

Several employees were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.

After a three-hour, nine-minute delay, the train reconnected to the empty passenger car and resumed its trip to New York and Boston with its estimated 198 passengers and crew of 12.

The extent of the fire and its cause were not immediately known.