A driver in Colorado went the extra mile to protect his students and his school bus when it caught fire.
Steve Alhouse, a school bus driver for Academy School District 20 Transportation in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was on his afternoon route on May 2, when he noticed his electrical gauges start to malfunction. That was followed by smoke pouring from under the hood and filling the vehicle.
“A wire under the hood dropped low enough to contact the exhaust hose. The intense heat probably sparked the fire,” Driver Supervisor Vicki Tomberlin later explained.
Alhouse, who is in his fifth year of driving for the district, promptly stopped the bus as soon as was safely possible and evacuated all seven middle school students on board. He then returned to the bus to try to find out what was causing the smoke.
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He opened the hood, noticed flames coming from the engine area and grabbed the fire extinguisher. With smoke billowing around him, he put out the blaze before the fire department arrived.
“The middle schoolers stood on the sidelines and cheered Steve on as he put out the fire,” Transportation Supervisor Robert Leach shared. “He is our ASD20 hero.”
Leach reported that no one was injured.
