Several fires closed a part of I-76 eastbound near 30th Street Station, causing delays

Three consecutive fires closed a portion of I-76 eastbound near 30th Street Station on Tuesday afternoon, causing major traffic delays ahead of rush hour, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Fire Department said.

I-76 eastbound closed as of 3 p.m. Tuesday between Exit 342 — near Girard Avenue and the Philadelphia Zoo — and Exit 343, or Spring Garden Street, due to a fire on the train tracks, Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management posted on X (formerly Twitter). The highway reopened just after 4:30 p.m., the office said.

Philadelphia Fire Department crews first responded to a “rubbish fire” on the train tracks near Girard Avenue and Schuylkill Avenue at 1:25 p.m., a spokesperson said. Thirteen minutes later, fire crews responded to a second one near SEPTA’s Penn Medicine Station. And at 1:48 p.m., the spokesperson said, another set of firefighters responded to a third rubbish blaze near 30th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard.

All three fires were contained just after 4:30 p.m., confirmed the spokesperson. No injuries were reported.

The spokesperson said the set of blazes were likely caused by a piece of debris getting caught under a train as it traveled along the tracks past 30th Street Station.

The fires are considered separate incidents, “but they were all caused the same way,” said the fire department spokesperson.

A SEPTA spokesperson said its rail service had not been affected by the fires.