Driver hailed for response to school bus fire

MESA, Ariz. — Fire officials praised a school bus driver for her decisive actions to keep her passengers safe when her bus caught on fire.

On the morning of May 8, the Mesa Fire Department and medical units responded to a call of a school bus fire. Crews found the Mesa Public Schools bus evacuated, with fire in the front engine compartment.

Officials said that firefighters extinguished the blaze quickly. The school bus driver, assistant and four special-education students were not injured, and the students were transported on to school by the district.

In a post on its Facebook page, the Mesa Fire Department credited school bus driver Cynthia Wells with a "great job and quick thinking," saying that her actions "ensured her student passengers were safe."

A spokesperson for the fire agency told CBS 5 that Wells had noticed a small amount of smoke while she was driving, and she quickly pulled over and helped her passengers evacuate.

To view the Mesa Fire Department's photos of firefighters extinguishing the blaze and of Wells being interviewed by local media, see our photo gallery.