Greenville students safe after bus catches fire, mechanical issue to blame
Fire officials say students were taken off a Greenville School bus just before flames began to spread through the bus.
Scary moments outside Greenville Elementary on Wednesday just before 9:00 am as school bus G-10 burst into flames shortly after students walked off the bus and walked into the school.
Photos taken by a Hempfield Township Police Officer, who was on the scene, are dramatic as the front half of the bus is engulfed in flames.
The Hempfield Township Fire Department said initially a liquid was spotted dripping from underneath the bus and that's also where flames were initially spotted.
Dave Anderson, the president of Anderson Coach and Travel, owns the school buses used by the Greenville School District.
"The driver pulled in and the children were disembarking. She noticed there was smoke coming out from underneath the hood," Anderson said.
A maintenance person from the school actually told the bus driver there were flames and not just smoke, so they tried to use fire extinguishers to put out the fire. But it spread to the engine compartment so they called 911 for help.
"We've been in business for 82 years and we operate 150 school buses. First time we've ever had an incident of this nature," Anderson said.
The busses are not only state inspected, but there is also maintenance every 3,000 miles.
Some parents told 21 News they have every confidence in the upkeep and maintenance of the buses and the evacuation and crisis plan. The incident is now under investigation.
Stephanie DiFrischia is a Greenville parent and said, "Yes it was definitely scary, but I feel they handled the situation very well and all the kids were taken care of and the parents were notified."
Another parent, Erin Straw, said she also feels good about how things were handled. "I was a little frightened, but they said that everything was under control and the kids were safe."
The owner of the buses said he will now report the incident to state and federal authorities to make sure there's no trend or series of problems on this particular make and model of school buses. Because he said there's nothing more important to him than the safety of our school children.
Anderson Coach and Travel also took to social media this afternoon with an idea of what happened, saying they believe the fire started as a mechanical issue.
Anderson also commended the bus driver, and the students, for their quick actions that kept everyone safe.
School officials say no one was injured and classes continued in the school.