Inwood Train Yard Put On 'Fire Watch' After Failed Water Flow Tests

INWOOD, NY — An Inwood MTA train yard has been placed under a "fire watch" after recent tests found that the yard has inadequate fire pump infrastructure, according to a letter made public on Wednesday from acting Inspector General Elizabeth Keating.

The letter came after testing done on March 18 found that the fire pump within the 207th Street train yard "failed almost immediately" due to poor water pressure.

"Fire suppression systems play an important role in ensuring personnel and assets are protected from fires" Keating wrote in the letter to New York City Transit interim President Craig Cipriano. "However, we learned that NYC Transit has not kept up with the required annual testing cycles, and there is significant evidence that in-house personnel have not been sufficiently trained on or knowledgeable about NFPA code requirements to ensure the testing was properly performed."

The Inwood train yard was singled out as particularly worrying within a larger audit that found 22 of 23 fire pumps across 13 New York City Transit facilities had not been tested recently in the appropriate manner, according to the Office of the Inspector General.

The 207th Street yard is the main storage space for the A and C trains, as well as the repair facility for the A, B, C and D lines. It is currently in the process of a $600 million rehabilitation project to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

MTA Chief Safety and Security Officer pushed back against the letter by saying there is "no known fire safety hazard in New York City train yards."

A spokesperson from the MTA also told Patch that New York City Transit has hired a fire suppression system contractor that has conducted a complete review of fire suppression systems at all 23 pumps mentioned in the letter over the last three weeks.

Additionally, a 24/7 fire watch has been instituted at a building within the 207th Street yard to further ensure the safety of employees.

“There can be no compromise when it comes to the safety of MTA employees and when safety issues arise we address them immediately," Warren said in his full statement to Patch. "There is no known fire safety hazard in New York City Transit train yards where we instituted preventative measures and had independent certified fire suppression experts assist in testing equipment and installing any necessary upgrades. We will continue to evaluate fire safety strategy, keeping policies in alignment with industry-standard best practices.”