School bus catches fire in Wilmington

WILMINGTON, Del. - March 29, 2012 (WPVI) -- A quick thinking school bus driver managed to get children to safety after the bus caught fire on their way to school Thursday morning.

It was a close call for some Delaware school children who had a lesson in fire safety Thursday morning, but it was no drill; the school bus they were on caught fire.

Flames broke out on the bus around 7:00 a.m. along the 400 block of McKennans Church Road - just a block away from its destination at McKean High School in Wilmington, Delaware.

Police say the bus driver reacted swiftly and got all 30 students that were onboard off before the bus was fully involved.

Firefighters had a tough time getting to the burning bus.

Firefighters' efforts to get to the burning bus were hampered when another school bus headed toward the high school blew its transmission. It was stuck a few yards in front of the burning bus, blocking the road.

The bus is owned by Ken Darsney's Boulden Bus Company, which contracts with the Red Clay School District to provide transportation.

The owner says he will be inspecting the bus but his preliminary thoughts are that the bus may have had a ruptured fuel line. The bus was towed back to the bus yard on Honeysuckle Lane in Stanton.

Darsney is still trying to figure out why the fire started, though he thinks a mechanical failure in the fuel line may be to blame. He says the bus had undergone a state inspection just three weeks ago.

A substitute driver and replacement bus took the afternoon route.

There are no reports of injuries.

Get more Local/State »

wilmington, delaware, school bus, fire, local/state

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•