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In circumstances like these, rather than immediately bring the train to a stand, possibly in the middle of nowhere / very difficult to reach - shouldn't consideration be given to allowing the train to coninue to next station - maybe only when location is close to PAD as the stations aren't far apart & evacuation would be simple.

Just a word on how the automatic fire bottles operate:

They are for the engines only and do not operate when there is a saloon fire - manually operated extinguishers have to do the job then.  A heat detecting circuit runs round the engine and when it detects abnormal heat then the fire alarm sounds in the drivers cab and when the speed of the train is reduced to less than 6mph the automatic extinguisher activates.  If there is an engine fire and that doesn't put it out, then there's a separate extinguisher which can be operated by a pull handle manually.  The driver is aware which engine is affected by that carriages 'cant rail' light being lit.

So, if there wasn't a fire it must have been a defect with this heat detecting circuit.  They have been known to set the extinguishers off at very low temperatures (explain that one if you can!), but it's unusual (though not unheard of) for them to go off under normal running conditions.  Ironically when the extinguisher contacts the hot engine there's a hell of a lot of steam which actually makes it look as if there is an engine fire, even if there isn't! 

Hmmm ... I'm not sure that fanning the flames by continuing to run a train, to bring it under the enclosed and populous roof at Paddington to make evacuation earlier would be such a good idea   Bearing in mind that although most alarms are going to be false, there might be a real incident sometime and as it develops, the people involved won't know which it is.

Commuters escape from train blaze

(http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40191000/jpg/_40191638_train_203.jpg)
An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire

At least 20 passengers fled from a train on to the tracks after a carriage caught fire on the outskirts of Bristol on Monday.

The blaze on the 8.06pm Wessex trains service from Bristol Temple Meads to Weston-super-Mare burnt out one carriage and badly damaged a second.

Eyewitnesses said flames reached 20 feet into the air. All the passengers escaped safely, but three people were treated for the effects of smoke inhalation.

The train came to an emergency halt half a mile from Nailsea and Backwell station in north Somerset.

British Transport Police said passengers and train controllers had called to report smoke on the train at 8.35pm. Most of the passengers were commuters returning home to north Somerset.

Witness Andy Didlick said: "Before I knew what was going on I looked out of the window and there were flames each side of the carriage and smoke coming in."

(http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40193000/jpg/_40193040_203_trainwreck.jpg)   
There is going to be a full investigation and safety is the priority in operating our railways these days. 
Andy Griffiths, Wessex Trains

"We couldn't actually get out. We pushed the emergency thing and nothing happened so we were stuck in there and it was pretty scary."

Another told the BBC: "We could hear some alarms going off for about four or five minutes and then one of the other passengers could smell smoke so they alerted the conductor and he said there was nothing the matter. The next thing we knew there was smoke and flames ripping down the carriageway. There were 23 people on there but had it been the half-past five train where it's completely packed out, there could have been people killed on it."

Some passengers were forced to move to the rear three carriages to stay safe. "The door wouldn't open at first. We finally opened it and jumped out," another said. One passenger said there had been a smell of burning from the time the train left Bristol.

Andy Griffiths from Wessex Trains said: "The doors had been opened when the train was brought to a controlled standstill, and the proper evacuation procedure was carried out. There is going to be a full investigation and safety is the priority in operating our railways these days. We do take these things very seriously and we will learn all the lessons we can from this."

An investigation is under way to determine what caused the fire. A British Transport Police spokesman said that preliminary investigations suggested a mechanical fault was to blame.

Just a word on how the automatic fire bottles operate:

They are for the engines only and do not operate when there is a saloon fire - manually operated extinguishers have to do the job then.  A heat detecting circuit runs round the engine and when it detects abnormal heat then the fire alarm sounds in the drivers cab and when the speed of the train is reduced to less than 6mph the automatic extinguisher activates.  If there is an engine fire and that doesn't put it out, then there's a separate extinguisher which can be operated by a pull handle manually.  The driver is aware which engine is affected by that carriages 'cant rail' light being lit.

So, if there wasn't a fire it must have been a defect with this heat detecting circuit.  They have been known to set the extinguishers off at very low temperatures (explain that one if you can!), but it's unusual (though not unheard of) for them to go off under normal running conditions.  Ironically when the extinguisher contacts the hot engine there's a hell of a lot of steam which actually makes it look as if there is an engine fire, even if there isn't! 

In circumstances like these, rather than immediately bring the train to a stand, possibly in the middle of nowhere / very difficult to reach - shouldn't consideration be given to allowing the train to coninue to next station - maybe only when location is close to PAD as the stations aren't far apart & evacuation would be simple.

A couple of examples of how nasty train fires in tunnels can get: these involved goods trains carrying flammable/hazardous goods, but very fortunately there were no serious injuries in either case. However both incidents caused huge disruption:

Summit Tunnel, UK, Dec 1984 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_Tunnel_fire)
Howard Street Tunnel, Baltimore, USA, Jul 2001 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Street_Tunnel_fire)

A couple of examples of how nasty train fires in tunnels can get: these involved goods trains carrying flammable/hazardous goods, but very fortunately there were no serious injuries in either case. However both incidents caused huge disruption:

Summit Tunnel, UK, Dec 1984 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_Tunnel_fire)
Howard Street Tunnel, Baltimore, USA, Jul 2001 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Street_Tunnel_fire)

... the best advice for passengers is to move out of the vehicle that is on fire into an adjacent one evacuating passengers out onto an open railway is extremely dangerous as the fire on the 8 Sept 1995 on board the 18:30 Padd to Swansea demonstrated where a male passenger was struck by a train on the UM  http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=401 (http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=401)