Startling Video: N.C. Bus Carrying 6 Kids Bursts Into Flames
- Posted on February 10, 2012 at 10:45am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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The song about this bus isn’t about the wheels on it going “round and round.” Instead, it would be something about the flames engulfing it going “higher and higher.”
A school bus carrying six children in Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday caught fire, sending smoke and flames shooting from the windows. The driver was able to escort the kids out the back door, and is being called a hero. Video of the incident is breathtaking:
The Charlotte Observer reports the fire started because of a faulty motor of a fan heater. The paper has more on the driver:
Richardson, the bus driver, said she sensed trouble when she smelled something weird coming from her bus as she neared the end of her route.
It was different from the diesel fumes and exhaust that typically emanate from the heavy vehicles. It smelled, Richardson recalled, like burning wires.
Richardson, who was taking six children home from Chantilly Montessori School around 5 p.m., stopped the bus on Bearmore Drive, between Sardis Road and Monroe Road.
Then smoke began pouring into the bus from the front console.
She corralled the children to the back of the bus, then escaped with them through the back door, lowering some of the smaller children to the ground.
They watched as flames engulfed the bus and smoke poured out of the windows.
Unfortunately, bus fires in the area have become a common occurrence, especially for those with Thomas Built bus bodies. The Observer reports that WNCT-TV found that there were five such fires between 2010 and 2011 and four of those involved Thomas buses.
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Comments (48)
cessna152
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:07pmproof public school is hazardous to children
Report Post »xzero01
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 8:39pmit was a electric hybrid bus
Report Post »ltcmscusar1
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 8:36pmWas this a Chevy Volt???? Just wondering…
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 8:50amThe bus, the bus, the bus is on fire…we don’t need no water, let the….burn!
Report Post »confederacyofdunces
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 8:15pmI mentioned the seatbelt issue at local public school meetings and it fell on deaf ears. The put kids 3 across in NC. What happens when there is a wreck? An apology? My kid no longer attends public schools for this and many other reasons. They just want seat warmers to get funding for the districts.
Report Post »tiredofprogressives
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:27pmGeorge Bush’s fault.
Report Post »colt1860
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 6:41pmLOL…
Unfortunately, it’s now, “Obama’s fault”, for everything. Truth be told, both parties have been screwing us Americans over, and over. They’re both traitors.
TEA
Report Post »seldomscene
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 7:11pmNot related but………Why doesn’t Moochel tell hubby to put seat belts school buses? Why is never mentioned?
Report Post »decroded
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 7:39pmActually, AP did it. BTW, does everything on school buses have to be so combustible?
Report Post »KeithOlberdink
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:14pmIt‘s George Bush’s fault (Just ask a democrap)
Report Post »campt1
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:07pmStarting to look like Israel.
Report Post »urrybr
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:48pmOK, OK . . . it‘s Israel AND Bush’s fault.
Report Post »TexBork
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 4:42pmI was thinking that this looked more like the result of Gorebal Warming.
Report Post »bankerpapaw
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:02pmThat was one brave fireman. He opened the door and waded right in. I was afraid the bus was going
Report Post »to explode and he would be trapped. Great job!!!
GrumpyCat
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 2:22pmWhat the heck is so combustible in the heater? Is it an oil-fired heater?
Report Post »TexBork
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 4:44pmMaybe the fan motor burnt up. That could cause a fire. I’ve had a couple of cars catch on fire before. Thankfully, one was a Hyundai.
Report Post »Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:52pmBurst is not the word.. It was an electrical short, much like your toaster heats up. It is when the sheathing of the wire catches fire that it spreads. Misleading headline as the event would have a plenty of warning so as no real danger is present. JUST SAYIN”
Report Post »AllAmericanGirl22
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:23pmThank God everyone was okay. When I saw this photo I had my doubts, praise God!
Report Post »Rick Steele
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:23pmCoffee Mom, I too was impressed with the actions of the firefighter. He may have looked ‘calm’, but I can assure you he was not. What he was, was a professionally trained firefighter. A credit to his unit. Going in where others run out. God bless him.
Report Post »PATRIOTMAMA
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:55pmPraise the Lord Almighty that He gave that wonderful heroic bus driver the sense to get herself and those children out of the bus when she did. Judging by the amount of smoke, any hesitation on her part and the tone of this story would have been very very different. I too am extremely impressed by the firefighter just walking right into that burning bus. Hooray for that man. True Heroes are all around us. Take the time to thank God for those He places around you and yours and then thank them. Cheers to both the bus driver and the firefighter!!!
Report Post »KathleenElsie
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:49pmAmen to this.
Report Post »lionshield
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 2:22pmamen, sister ! THANK GOD THEIR LIVE !
Report Post »Guerrino_P
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:53pmThe image reminds me of when Southern Republican Rednecks of the early sixties fire bombed the Freedom Riders bus.
tazman50
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:32pmYour statement is nothing but a meaningless collection of incoherent words.
Do a bit a fact checking before you post comments in the future.
Violence in Alabama was organized by Birmingham Police Sergeant Tom Cook (an avid Ku Klux Klan supporter) and police commissioner Bull Connor. The pair made plans to bring the Ride to an end in Alabama. The KKK was a bastion of DEMOCRAT resistance to integration, and Connor entered politics as a Democrat in 1934, and ultimately became an international symbol of bigotry.
Report Post »Fried Okra
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:31pmGood job Taz… way to send that ill-informed person back to school.
@Guerrino_P: it must su c k to be you. So much hate. Or you are a troll. Either way… just sad.
Report Post »TakeBackAmerica
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 4:00pmGuerrino is in the top 5 most ignorant on the blaze
Report Post »Toxic Pirate
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 4:05pmAh they were southern Democrats
Report Post »Toxic Pirate
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 4:07pmGeorge Wallace “Democrat” Look it up
Report Post »Guerrino_P
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:18pmSure, if it makes you feel any better, yes, the mobs that fire bombed the Freedom Rider bus were all liberals… and Muslims too!
Report Post »GotLead
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:51pmIt’s Bushes fault. And Good thing there all ok.
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:34pmAnother miracle.. Thank you God and thank you Ms. Richardson.
Report Post »MommyNeedsMoreCoffee
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:09pmHorrifying fire…I am hugely impressed by the firefighter who just walked onto the bus to extinguish the flames. We all know they do it, but to see him casually walk into that inferno is astonishing. My family drove by a pickup truck that was on fire recently and the heat in our own vehicle was overwhelming…and we got by it as quickly as possible. Thank God for those that walk in while the rest of us run away…
Report Post »Searchingforthelight
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:48amIf you read your history it has been pointed out that fire was considered evil. Not to be paganistic just to point out a fact.
Report Post »LOTO
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:29amNote to self: Don’t believe everything that you read.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:26am‘
Report Post »Is that a GM Bus?…….
Stoic one
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:40amfrom wiki:
“Thomas Built Buses, Inc. is a bus manufacturer based in High Point, North Carolina, United States and a subsidiary of the German Daimler AG. Thomas produces school buses, activity buses/MFSAB (Multi-Function School Activity Buses), and commercial buses; both small and full-size buses are produced.”
SO the buses appear to be built primarily for government entities; and it is a subsidiary of the parent of Chrysler, which received an auto bailout/buyout.
Report Post »urrybr
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:49pmYeah, it’s one of their electric buses!
Report Post »omgfolks
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:18amWow and article to tells us that the driver saved the kids and the the bus maker makes bad buses. Well if they had so many problems as the article points out what has the School District done to correct the problems. What was the maintanence record of these buses, who took care of them and what was their qualifications to do so. when was the last time this heater motor was inspected for potential problems, how old is this bus? Before you go pointing blame at the Bus Maker maybe we should hear more about the bus since the School District has owned it.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:46amYour point about maintenance is well made. It is always the first thing to be curtailed, be it a homeowner, private business, or government.
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:10amWe should never let a crisis go to waste, and demand the immediate defunding of all public education. The #1 thing wrong with America is the government teaching our kids what to think instead of having the parents do it.
Report Post »Spyderco
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:03pmHere! Here!
Report Post »ENTP
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:07amI’m thinking this following story should be up on the BLAZE today…
Report Post »US military assisting in the violent crackdown in Bahrain.
link to story:
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=45079&frid=23&seccatid=27&cid=23&fromval=1
Stoic one
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:08pmI read the article…how did you come to the conclusion the US military was participating? The article stated the US military was TRAINING the local gov‘t ’peacekeepers’.
Report Post »willbedone
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:00amWhat is missing from this article it that the buses in question are all over 13 years old. Maintenance issues were not mentioned. Naming Thomas as the manufacture of the busses is a hatchet job. Thomas Bus company is based in High Point, NC.
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:07amThomas must be non-union and owned by republicans.
Report Post »We can’t smear non-union shops enough according to our dictator-in-chief.
MissKitty33
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:48amRegardless of age, auto do not regularly catch on fire. The schools districts need to be held accountable to some point as they chose what to purchase and maintenance schedules. I would also look into the abilities of the mechanics at the districts as they are more concerned with filling quotas than hiring competent people.
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 10:55amThis is a true testament why Democrats should never own a business, fund a business where the tenet is “green” anything. It is obvious that the batteries in vehicle are not functioning properly and/or the electrical current they put out is too much for the wiring used thus causing an overload. This is no different than the electrical box in your home. If you overload the circuits the wires burn make contact with other wires and short out causing a fire. It does not take a rocket scientist to know this.
Get Democrats out of green energy, they will kill us all.
Report Post »