Sparks cause minor fire on Purple Line tracks in Evanston

A small track fire on the south bound tracks of the CTA’s Purple Line near South Boulevard Station in Evanston resulted in a 10 to 12-minute delay early Wednesday afternoon, a Chicago Transit Authority official said.

The fire, which broke out at about 1:15 p.m., was extinguished by the train operator, said Catherine Hosinski, a CTA spokesperson. Hosinski said small track fires are not unheard of occurrences. She said this particular blaze was caused by “the third rail chair” which is a device that props up the electrified third rail. Electric arcing, which involves the release of sparks, from the chair ignited the track, Hosinski said.

Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.