An Ohio bus driver has been hailed a hero for helping 15 students to escape after the school bus they were traveling on burst into flames.
Bus 21 had been at the corner of Cambridge and Northampton in Cleveland Heights when a fire broke out behind one of the rear wheels on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 27, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District said in anews release.
The driver — who was taking the students to Monticello Middle School - reacted “quickly” to evacuate the students “off the bus and to safety,” according to astatementfrom the Cleveland Heights Fire Department on Facebook.
Firefighters tackling the bus fire.Cleveland Heights Fire Department
Cleveland Heights Fire Department
“I spoke with the driver today, and they credited the annual bus evacuation drills that drivers do with students with preparing them,” she continued.
The school bus on fire.Cleveland Heights Fire Department
She added, “I also must credit the students for reacting so calmly and following the driver’s instructions to get to safety.”
There were no injuries and the fire was quickly brought under control, authorities said.
The bus was traveling to Monticello Middle School on Feb. 27 when the fire broke out.Cleveland Heights Fire Department
Maureen Ottman — who lives in the neighborhood where the bus fire broke out — told local news outletCleveland 19that she heard a loud noise seconds after the bus came down the street.
“It is like nothing I have ever seen before, black smoke everywhere,” Ottman told the outlet. “This house evacuated. The house across the street evacuated. All the kids got off the bus.”
Ohio State Highway Patrol last inspected bus 21 on Feb. 14 and found no safety violations, according to Cleveland 19.
State patrols inspect school buses daily across Ohio in addition to annual inspections and visits to schools around every six months, per the outlet.
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Firefighters tackling the Ohio school bus fire.Cleveland Heights Fire Department
She also said a team of mechanics were tasked with re-inspecting their fleet of buses “out of an abundance of caution.”
The Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, Cleveland Heights Fire Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
source: people.com
