A fire sparked at a trolley transit center near San Diego State University on Tuesday morning, officials confirmed.
The blaze – which officials say appeared to be an electrical fire – broke out just after 9:20 a.m. at the SDSU Trolley/Transit Center located in the 5200-block of Campanile Drive and Hardy Avenue.
San Diego Fire Department officials say the fire began underground at the transit station, with smoke and fire coming from a battery room.
Approximately 30 firefighters responded to the scene, as well as officials from the San Diego Police Department.
Travelers at the transit center were evacuated while crews worked to knock down the fire. The nearby SDSU Humanities building was also evacuated during the fire, and students were warned via a campus-wide alert sent out to their cell phones and email addresses.
The fire was contained quickly, and no injuries were reported.
Again, fire officials said the blaze was likely electrical in nature, but the cause is under investigation.
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At 11:30 a.m. MTS released new information on the fire, saying a battery leak inside an interior operations room at the SDSU Trolley Station was the root of the blaze. The fumes from the battery caused the fire alarms to sound off, MTS said.
The trolley’s green line travels through the SDSU Transit Center. The Transit Center was temporarily shut down following the incident, which impacted both trolley and bus service near campus.
MTS operated a bus bridge for trolley service between Grantville and 70th Street stations during the closure. Bus service was detoured to Campanile Drive north of Montezuma and provided pick-up and drop-off of all bus passengers.
The station was reopened by approximately 11:15 a.m., MTS confirmed.
Trolleys are now fully operational through the station and MTS buses are operating at their scheduled stops on the upper-level of the SDSU Transit Center.
