January 26, 2005 -- The destruction by fire of the vital control room at the Chambers Street station should be a "wake-up call" that the subway system is vulnerable to a terror attack, experts and lawmakers said yesterday.
"I hope the MTA learns from this - not al Qaeda," said Nicholas Casale, a former MTA deputy security director. "That's the lesson here."
The fire gutted the equipment room, crippled A and C service across the city - and highlighted the need for beefed-up security measures at transit facilities such as pump rooms and ventilation shafts across the subway system.
"The area should have been fireproofed and equipped with video cameras in order to keep something like this from happening," said Andrew Albert, who represents riders on the MTA board.
"There should be an alarm system or something that would indicate someone has trespassed onto the property. Even a terrorist can dress up like a homeless person."
Police said a vagrant lit up some wood blocks inside a shopping cart in order to keep warm during the blizzard in an area off-limits to the public.
The flames spread to the equipment room and destroyed the circuits that serve as a nerve center for the operation of train signals and switches.
Cops said yesterday that they have cracked down on homeless people throughout the system, including arresting 92 vagrants at the Chambers Street station last year.
Seven homeless people have been arrested at the station this year, police said.
Transit Authority President Larry Reuter agreed that "any open system has a vulnerability" and said that anyone with a MetroCard can "do damage" to transit facilities.
While Reuter offered no solutions, Casale, who runs a private investigative firm, suggested using a system such as Israel's, where sensitive areas along railroad tracks are protected by alarms.
City Councilman John Liu (D-Queens), who chairs the Transportation Committee, blasted transit officials for "not adequately prioritizing safety" since 9/11.
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