A dramatic fire erupted early Thursday morning at the SEPTA Midvale Depot in Philadelphia’s Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood, engulfing 40 decommissioned buses and sending a thick plume of black smoke across the city The three-alarm blaze started around:15 a.m. and was brought under control by a.m., with no reported injuries.
Officials confirmed the fire was triggered by a lithium-ion battery in a Proterra-made electric bus stored at the facility Of the 40 buses damaged, were electric, all awaiting disposal or sale as part of ongoing litigation with the manufacturer The tightly packed storage yard, known as SEPTA’s “bus graveyard,” housed about 100 out-of-service vehicles at the time..
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health advised residents to stay indoors as air quality monitors detected elevated levels of particulate matter, benzene, ethylbenzene, and carbon monoxide while the fire burned By Friday morning, pollutant levels had returned to normal and the shelter-in-place advisory was lifted.
SEPTA officials now plan to expedite the removal of remaining electric buses from the property to prevent future incidents The cause remains under investigation, but this marks the second major fire involving Proterra electric buses at SEPTA facilities in recent years..
