A school bus in Dickson County, Tennessee, was consumed by fire shortly after students were safely evacuated, in an incident that occurred on Wednesday afternoon. The bus was traveling on Highway 49 East with children on board when the fire broke out, according to the local sheriff’s office.
The driver, demonstrating quick thinking, pulled over at a Ridge Market gas station and managed to evacuate the students just before the bus was engulfed in flames. Images of the incident, which were obtained by local media, show the interior of the bus completely ablaze, with thick black smoke billowing from the windows.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the incident. Asher Winters, a second-grade student at Charlotte Elementary School who was on the bus at the time, told local news station WKRN, “I was the first one to get off the bus because I was scared it was going to blow up.”
Penelope Winters, a first-grade student at the same school, proudly claimed that she alerted the bus driver to the impending danger, saying, “I saved everyone because I told the bus driver it was happening.”
The Harpeth Ridge Volunteer Fire Department responded to the incident and managed to extinguish the fire. However, the bus was completely destroyed in the incident. Images of the aftermath show the charred remains of the vehicle.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation by local authorities. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of quick thinking and emergency preparedness in ensuring the safety of students during their daily commute to and from school.