CLEVELAND HEIS, Ohio (AP) — School bus drivers safely evacuated 15 students after a vehicle started a fire while heading to school in the suburbs of Cleveland, and kicked out children before the bus was engulfed in flames in residential areas.
No injuries were reported in the Thursday morning fire in Cleveland Heights and was quickly controlled by firefighters. The flame appears to have started behind the rear wheel, but the cause is still under investigation, according to the Cleveland Heights University Heights School District.
The bus headed to Monticello Middle School in Cleveland Heights, where the driver noticed the fire and told the students to get out of the vehicle. Residents in the area reported hearing the moment of “big boom” before the fire broke out and reported strong black smoke swirling around the vehicle.
The driver asked not to release his name, the district said. Another district bus in the area picked up evacuated students and took them to school.
The bus caught in the fire had just passed an annual mandatory state inspection two weeks ago, the district said. Citing “a wealth of attention,” the district re-examined all buses in its fleet.
in Messages posted on the district websitePrincipal Liz Kirby said he was “incredibly grateful” for his driver’s prompt response to the fire. She said the driver praised the annual bus evacuation drills that drivers use as students to help them get off the bus safely and quickly.
Source link
