WASHINGTON – The woman who led the investigation into the deadly 2009 Red Line crash says conflicting information about what went wrong this month in a smoke-filled Metro tunnel could actually help lead federal聽investigators closer to the truth.
The D.C. government and Metro have made some conflicting statements about the response to the smoke-filled train and station and about communication during the incident that killed聽61-year-old Carol Glover of Alexandria and sent dozens of others聽to area hospitals.
Former National Transportation Safety Board chair Deborah Hersman now leads the National Safety Council, and is not involved in the current investigation. She left the NTSB last year.
鈥淵ou have to understand that everybody has an interest鈥nd so they鈥檙e going to have different perspectives. The value that they bring to the investigation is they serve as, many times, a check on each other, and so if you鈥檙e not getting all the information from one party, you鈥檙e probably going to get it from another,鈥� Hersman says.
The NTSB will make final determinations about the cause or causes of the incident and will make recommendations for changes, but a final report isn’t expected for months.
Metro has already it is making in the wake of the incident, including giving train operators permission to turn off ventilation systems that bring outside air into the train as soon as they run into smoke in a tunnel. Previously, that required permission from Metro鈥檚 operations center.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 a man-made disaster or a natural disaster, or something that鈥檚 unexpected, these are things, particularly in the nation鈥檚 capital with respect to evacuation and how we deal with emergency response, that everybody should learn from. And it鈥檚 not just Metro, we鈥檝e got a lot of important assets and facilities in the area and they need to learn from this too,鈥� she says.
Hersman believes the lessons for emergency response聽stretch could be applied to聽tornadoes or聽hurricanes or聽terror attacks.
鈥淵ou really have to be prepared. Not just have a plan, but you have to execute those plans,” she says.
Metro is looking for a new general manager after Richard Sarles retired just days after the incident at L鈥橢nfant Plaza. His tenure was marked by a renewed focus on maintenance and infrastructure upgrades based on the NTSB recommendations that Hersman oversaw following the 2009 crash.
Hersman expects this month鈥檚 incident will shape the Metro Board鈥檚 direction.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing that really motivates people to focus on specific priorities [more] than a significant event like this, and I think certainly when we are looking at transitioning leadership, this is going to be at the top of everyone鈥檚 mind. It鈥檚 not necessarily going to be about schedules, or escalators, it鈥檚 going to be about safety,鈥� she says.
