Two school buses at a private Marysville, Washington school were damaged after a suspected fuel theft attempt sparked a fire, and now school officials are faced with the need to replace another school bus.
According to a social post by Grace Academy, the fuel theft and resulting blaze occurred June 15. Two individuals were attempting to siphon fuel from one of the school buses when the vehicle caught fire. The blaze destroyed a smaller bus and damaged a larger bus parked parked nearby, and it burned surrounding bushes. Officials said they believe the fire was accidental. No injuries were reported.
“We’ve had some problems in the past with people coming onto campus and drilling holes into fuel tanks,” Tim Pearce, co-head of school at Grace Academy, told local news reporters. “This particular one went very wrong.”
The Marysville Fire Department responded quickly and prevented the flames from spreading further, school officials said in a statement posted on social media. Grace Academy praised firefighters for containing the blaze and minimizing additional damage to school property.
Pearce said the smaller bus is believed to be a total loss, while the extent of damage to the larger bus is still being assessed.
The Marysville Police Department is investigating the incident. A department spokesperson said via local reports on Monday that no arrests have been made, and no fuel theft suspects have been identified. Detectives are continuing to review the case.
Fire Damage Throws Wrench in New School Year Transportation Plans
The destroyed school buses are used primarily for student transportation during field trips, athletic competitions, and other extracurricular activities. School officials are now evaluating how to replace the damaged vehicle and restore transportation capacity before students return to campus for the upcoming school year.
Pearce said the loss is particularly frustrating because the school had recently completed a fundraising campaign.
“We had just raised money for a new bus just last year,” he told reporters. “Now we are down again, so we are going to have to raise funds again.”
The school launched an effort to seek donations from the community to help replace the destroyed bus and improve campus security measures aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.
School officials said they are considering additional security upgrades after previous incidents involving individuals entering the property and damaging fuel tanks. Pearce noted that fuel theft has been an ongoing concern, though none of the prior incidents resulted in a fire.
Grace Academy officials expressed gratitude that no students or staff members were on campus at the time of the fire and that no injuries were reported.
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