A row has broken out over whether fire detection equipment was working properly when smoke was spotted coming from an escalator at Euston Underground station last month.
Tube union RMT claims that on 6 July, a major disaster was only averted by the actions of a member of staff spotting the smoke and raising the alarm. But Transport for London (TFL) which is responsible for London Underground, says that detection systems were working but that the employee spotted the fire before they had time to activate.
The station was evacuated and closed for around an hour while London Fire Brigade crews attended the incident. They discovered smoke coming from a cable inside an escalator panel.
In another incident last Friday, 15 firefighters attended a small fire in a wall mounted air conditioning unit at Oxford Circus station. The station was evacuated for a few minutes but damage was limited to a small amount of wiring within the unit.
RMT also confirmed this week that it had written to TFL requesting that all fire detection equipment at sub-surface stations be inspected within 72 hours.
Meanwhile, RMT members voted yesterday to take industrial action in response to proposed budget cuts to London Underground, and the union says that staff who spotted the fire are among 800 jobs that are threatened.
Speaking before the strike ballot results were announced, RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “The two recent fire incidents at Euston and Oxford Circus show once again that it is vigilant and trained staff at station level who are critical when it comes to spotting potential danger and activating emergency evacuation procedures – yet these are the very staff that TFL are looking to axe in a cull of 800 tube station posts.
“If anyone wanted a clear example of why we are currently balloting for action over the axing of safety-critical tube jobs, they need look no further than the role played by staff at Euston and Oxford Circus. If those station staff hadn’t been on duty we could have had major disasters on our hands.”
Referring to the Euston station fire, a TFL spokesperson said: London Underground has carried out a full investigation and re-tested all alarm systems at the station, to ensure they are fully working. This incident demonstrates the importance we place on having our staff on hand in ticket halls and platform areas to help customers and safeguard their welfare.
“The alarm system would have been automatically activated within the standard time frame of two minutes, as is the case across the London Underground. However on this occasion, a member of staff raised the alarm within this time frame.
“London Fire Brigade gave permission to reopen most of the station within an hour. If they had any serious and ongoing concerns about our fire safety equipment, they would not have done so.”
