“Bus crashes have been in the news. Those that catch


fire, burn very quickly,”commented David Hartzell, di- rector of transportation for Harrison School District 2 in Colorado. “I’m not sure what it is, but whatever they are made of, they burn very quickly. That’s why it is so im- portant that we rehearse bus evacuations with children, so we can get them out of the bus in three to four minutes.” Hartzell recalled a small bus fire that occurred in the


Fire detection tubing in the engine compartment of a Kanawha County, West Virginia school bus. The tubing ruptures when a fire is detected, releasing the fluid from the piston accumulator.


front wheel area of one of his buses about five years ago, while the bus was loaded with students. “The driver had to pull over and evacuate the kids on the inter- state,” Hartzell said. “That was a great example of the importance of bus evacuation drills, because the driver evacuated the students in 40 seconds—and there were no student injuries.” Eric Smith, transportation director for the Seneca R-VII School District in southwestern Missouri near the Okla- homa boarder, developed a comprehensive emergency evacuation program, specifically to familiarize first responders with school buses, seat belts and restraint


Continues on page 40 ➥


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