Thirty-one campers and five adults bailed off a Georgia-bound charter bus in Anderson County on Saturday after a sudden loud pop turned into flames along I-85. The group, heading home from a Church of God camp in Simpsonville, scrambled out before the fire swallowed the bus, then watched as strangers and first responders stepped in to help them regroup.
Youth leader Grisel Torres says the trouble started about 20 minutes into the ride, when a pop rang out and the driver immediately steered to the shoulder so everyone could unload. "We didn't know if the bus was going to explode or what was going to happen," Torres told WBAL. She recalled campers and leaders quickly forming an "assembly line" to haul luggage and personal items away from the bus as firefighters rolled up.
Somehow, no one was hurt. The Anderson County 911 center logged 17 calls from passing drivers who watched the drama unfold, according to WYFF. Volunteer firefighters with the Wren Fire District and other responders knocked down the flames, while a nearby Love's truck stop opened its doors so the shaken group had a place to land while they waited for a replacement bus. The congregation eventually made it back to Snellville, and church leaders launched a GoFundMe to help replace luggage, medication and electronics that did not survive the fire.
Federal Research Flags Bus Fire Hot Spots
Federal studies show that the engine compartment and wheel wells are the spots most likely to ignite on motorcoaches, and that once a fire starts it can consume a vehicle in roughly 15 to 20 minutes, according to an analysis by the Volpe Center for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The report points to brakes, turbochargers, tires and wheel or hub bearings as common ignition sources, and recommends tougher inspections, better maintenance and more effective detection systems to cut the risk. The National Transportation Safety Board has also urged design and oversight changes in the wake of earlier fatal motorcoach fires. According to an NTSB report titled 'School Bus Run-Off-Road and Fire, Oakland, Iowa' (Dec. 12, 2017), 'a fire began in the engine compartment and spread throughout the bus' and the driver and a passenger died in that fire. According to the National Transportation Safety Board's Special Investigation Report SIR9904, previous motorcoach incidents resulted in multiple fatalities and the report notes that 'the 19 passengers who did not escape died in the fire.'
For now, Torres says the kids and adults are safe and in good spirits, even if they are missing some bags. The fundraiser is helping cover critical items lost in the blaze, and WBAL and WYFF link to the GoFundMe for anyone who wants the details. Federal researchers, meanwhile, keep stressing that routine pre-trip inspections and prompt maintenance remain some of the best defenses against this kind of roadside scare.
