MBTA: Dispose of Trash, Help Prevent Fires

Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser today helped MBTA spread the word about proper trash disposal and preventing subway fires.

Commissioner Fraser recorded a public service announcement to be heard at every MBTA subway station as part of a public awareness campaign.  The message: please use the trash and recycling receptacles found at all MBTA stations and on every train platform. 

Listen here. 

Read the announcement.

The announcement follows two separate fires last week that were the direct result of trash being thrown on the tracks and an aging network of electrical cables.

In response to the fires, Transportation Secretary James Aloisi and Acting General Manager William Mitchell also pledged to remind MBTA train crews that they are required to report trash build-up along the tracks and notify dispatchers so that a cleanup crew is alerted, and ordered the T Power Department to thoroughly inspect thousands of feet of electrical cables and present an action plan for addressing areas of immediate concern.  The outdated wiring will be upgraded with state-of-the-art cables with a longer life span.  Learn more at the MBTA website.