CLEVELAND, Tenn. – About 20 Bradley County schoolchildren were on a bus that caught fire Monday on the way to their first day of school.
The bus’s brakes caught fire around 7:26 a.m. while it was at a transfer station on Blue Springs Road, said Sammie Humphrey, secretary for director of Cleveland schools.
“The students got off the bus and onto another bus,” she said. “There were no injuries and no potential injuries; it was a safe transfer.”
About 20 students were on the bus at the time, Director of Pupil Personnel Gary Austin said.
While buses have smoked before, this was the first time the county had one catch on fire, he said.
“The tires caught on fire and it burnt the side of the bus,” he said. “It went into the cab and burnt and melted some seats.”
The bus, a 2000 model, was purchased a month ago by independent contractor Malone Busing, Austin said.
Owner Lynn Malone said he purchased the bus used from an Indiana company called Midwestern.
The Bradley County Fire Department reported that the fire started in the fender well on the bus’s right rear and a fan was used to clear smoke from the interior of the bus. Damage to the bus was estimated at $8,000.