Driver Saves Students From School Bus Fire

YORKSHIRE, N.Y. — Police said that a school bus driver here is a hero for acting quickly and evacuating students from his bus as it started to catch fire on Friday, WIVB reports.

The incident occurred just before 7 a.m., according to the news source, when the driver reported engine issues. According to Pioneer School District’s Facebook page, the driver noticed sparking in the engine compartment of the First Student bus. Police told WIVB that when the driver went up a hill, he saw smoke and flames. At that point, he got the three students, ages 12 to 17, off the bus and called 911, investigators told the news source.

The students escaped through the rear exit, according to the school district. No one was injured in the incident.

New York State Police Trooper James O’Callaghan told WIVB that because the bus was consumed quickly by the fire, they are looking into the fuel line or an accelerant. He added that because the driver didn’t hesitate to get the kids off the bus, “he is a hero.”

The school bus was fully engulfed by fire, the New York State Police reports on its Twitter page.