Separate panics at Times Square subway station, just feet and minutes apart

Passengers were evacuated twice at the same busy downtown metro station on Tuesday after a fire broke out on the tracks and a suspicious device was found minutes later, officials said.

Around 6:30 p.m., flames erupted from under the tracks at the 42nd Street-Port Authority station on Eighth Avenue around 6:30 p.m. as passengers tried to return home, according to police. Trains on the A/C/E line bypassed the station in both directions for a time as the FDNY responded to what was later determined to be a debris fire.

Less than half an hour later, the same station received a report of a suspicious device. Officers again evacuated hundreds of people who were underground as smoke from a recent debris fire still hung in the air.

Once the station was cleared, K9 and the sappers began to investigate. Officers checked for any suspicious object in sight, such as a black bag left on a trash can. Approximately an hour later, the retreat was given. Police said the suspect device was an e-cigarette smoking device.

The riders were allowed back in after the last of the NYPD’s batch of evidence left the precinct. Shortly thereafter, the movement of trains at the station resumed.