WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thousands of inaugural revelers trying to get out of Washington by train were delayed after a fast-food fryer tripped a fire alarm in Union Station.
D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter says authorities evacuated the station for about 45 minutes Wednesday after a fryer in the station's McDonald's restaurant overheated and set off an automatic fire extinguisher. The extinguisher released a chemical that can be harmful if inhaled by people with respiratory problems.
Etter says the station was jammed with people who had to be moved outside while firefighters cleared the air.
The station was shut down at around 12:45 p.m. and reopened around 1:30 p.m. There were no reported injuries.
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