A fire at a traction power substation shut down the Brookhaven MARTA station on Tuesday, Oct. 27, forcing evacuations and halting Gold Line trains for hours before service resumed the same evening.

No injuries were reported, according to MARTA and rescue personnel. The cause of the fire has not been released.

Passersby heard alarms from the station's first floor, below the train platform, around 6:30 p.m., Rough Draft Atlanta reported. About 10 minutes later, acrid smoke rose into the sky above the station.

MARTA Police evacuated all passengers safely, and transit workers cut rail power to the area, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. DeKalb County Fire Rescue crews were dispatched to the scene.

DeKalb Fire confirmed firefighters found two electrical meters beneath a power vault that had caught fire, WSB-TV reported. Crews extinguished the blaze.

Bus bridge filled the gap

While emergency personnel worked at the station, MARTA set up a bus bridge between Lenox and Chamblee stations to carry riders around the closure.

The disruption coincided with the Brookhaven City Council's Oct. 27 meeting at the adjoining municipal building. Rough Draft Atlanta reported the area was swarming with rescue personnel for several hours.

Transit officials confirmed that evening that all rail repairs and safety checks were completed. The station was back in operation around 9 p.m., according to Rough Draft Atlanta.

What's still unknown

MARTA has not said what caused the substation fire. The agency's public statement described the response and the bus bridge but offered no explanation for the blaze. Fox 5 Atlanta noted that transit authorities had not released the cause as of its report.

The Brookhaven station has undergone separate renovation work in recent years. In an August 2024 report, Urbanize Atlanta described upgrades projected to cost $13 million through fiscal year 2027 as part of MARTA's roughly $1 billion Station Rehabilitation Program. Previous completed work at the station included ADA improvements, parking lot repaving and replacement of a traction power substation roof.