News Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire WRITTEN BY SEAN GALLAGHER |
SEAN@STNONLINE.COM A
ll the news stories involving bus fires unfold in similar manners. Mobile, Alabama: Te
flames started in the engine and quickly spread to the rest of the school bus. Due to the quick reactions of the bus driver, who immediately noticed the smoke coming from under the hood, all 15 students aboard were evacuated with no injuries report. Firefighters responded and quelled the fire. Orange County, Florida: After a pass-
erby noticed smoke billowing from the bus and raised alarm, a veteran bus driver stop- ping the bus and rapidly unloading the 30 students on board moments before the fire incinerated the vehicle. Te driver’s expert training saved the students from injury. Fire
officials were able to put out the inferno. Oklahoma City: Students heard a loud pop before the saw flames emerging from the back of the bus. Te driver pulled to the side of the highway and saw one of the back tires on fire, instantly emptying the bus of all passengers. None of the 23 students were harmed. Fire crews arrived to find the bus consumed by the blaze, which took 30 minutes to extinguish entirely. Tese events occurred all occurred
recently, the incident in the Sooner State capital transpiring just last month. As with any instance that destroys prop-
erty, especially property that is meant to protect children, investigations are conduct- ed, fleets are inspected and administrative reports assure the public that cases such as the ones mentioned will never happen again.
And they don’t. School bus fires are such
irregular events that when they do occur, it’s always a shock. Which is why transpor- tation departments do everything they can to safeguard their fleets and guarantee that school bus fires remain infrequent. Tis can mean utilizing fire suppression technology. Tis can mean more training for both drivers and students. For Denny Coughlin, president of School Bus Training Company, it should be a combination of all these precautions, yet the focus should remain on “getting kids off the bus.” Coughlin, a nationally recognized school bus expert, has for more than 25 years taught fire authorities, law enforcement and EMTs to better respond to emergencies on school buses. He stated that the goal of all transportation departments should be to
ACT & Eberspaecher
ACT, ProAir & Eberspaecher
22 School Transportation News • MAY 2016
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