BART dispatch recordings capture how a train operator maintained his calm immediately after Tuesday’s small explosion and stubborn fire on the subway tracks. The fire filled his train with smoke, forcing passengers to flee to safety at Civic Center station.

At 11:30 a.m., the operator of train 375 reported to controllers that he had just seen an explosion of an insulator – a ceramic device that prevents voltage from the third rail from flowing into the ground. He told them it exploded “right in front of me.”

The train operator quickly describes to BART control the challenge he faces. The train is without power, stopped dead with the fire still burning in front of it. He announces a plan to sweep the train to assure everyone is out.

“It’s got a lot of smoke though and I’ve got everybody

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