Electrical Fire Suspends Service at Toronto Subway Station

A Toronto Transit Commission sign is shown at a downtown Toronto subway stop on Jan. 31, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Graeme Roy)

An electrical fire at Toronto’s Bloor-Yonge subway station occurred at the track level earlier this morning, forcing the evacuation of passengers from the station.

At 8:49 a.m. local time on April 25, Toronto Fire Services said fire crews had extinguished a fire at track level at the station.

“Smoke from the tunnel has been cleared, and thankfully, there have been no injuries reported,” the fire department said on social media.

The fire reportedly started in an electrical control box. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) said the fire appeared to be electrical in nature “with arcing causing bright flashes.”

Service on Line 1 was shut down between St. Clair and College, TTC said, with no service running between the top stops.

TTC said it had ordered 25 shuttles and that passengers could use east and west streetcar services to access the downtown core.

On Line 2, trains were skipping the stop at the Bloor-Yonge station. TTC said they would release more details on how the afternoon train service would be impacted after an assessment.

An update at 1 p.m. local time said transit crews were continuing to “work on a temporary fix that will allow us to get full service back ASAP.” The company said it would make a permanent repair later in the evening.

“Unconfirmed, but it appears it started with electrical arcing igniting debris,” TTC said on Twitter. “40 shuttles are running. More coming as needed.”

Toronto City News posted an eyewitness video from the subway station, reporting that passengers were abruptly told to evacuate the station to be safe. The video, taken from the platform, shows what looks to be an explosion, with the tunnel lit up in blinding white light. Eyewitnesses said there was a wall of flames at track level.

The fire reportedly started just north of the Line 1 platform.