School bus driver safely evacuates 15 students after bus catches fire in Cleveland suburb

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) — A school bus driver safely evacuated 15 students after the vehicle caught fire while headed to school in a Cleveland suburb, getting the children out moments before the bus became engulfed in flames in a residential area.

No injuries were reported in Thursday morning’s fire in Cleveland Heights, which was quickly brought under control by firefighters. The blaze apparently started behind a rear wheel, according to the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district, but the cause remains under investigation.

The bus was headed to Monticello Middle School in Cleveland Heights when the driver noticed the fire and told the students to get off the vehicle. Residents in the area reported hearing a “big boom” moments before the fire broke out, sending thick black smoke billowing around the vehicle.

The driver has asked that their name not be released, the school district said. Another district bus that was in the area picked up the evacuated students and took them to school.

The bus that caught fire had just passed its annual mandated state inspection two weeks ago, the school district said. Citing “an abundance of caution,” the district has since re-inspected all buses in its fleet.

In a message posted on the district’s website, Superintendent Liz Kirby said she was “incredibly thankful” for the driver’s quick response to the fire. She noted that the driver credited the annual bus evacuation drills that drivers do with students for helping everyone to safely and quickly get off the bus.