Despite three serious school bus fires occuring in the past two weeks, two in Texas and one in Florida, there was no loss of life thanks to the widely reported heroism of the three bus drivers involved.
The Davenport, Florida driver is being hailed as a hero after she hustled 38 middle school students off a bus before it burst into flames Wednesday (pictured above). Kristina Buhrman, a math teacher and substitute bus driver, said she saw smoke streaming from the back of the bus. She pulled the bus over and called 911 right away.
Buhrman and all the students made it off the bus before it was engulfed in flames. “I didn’t do anything any other teacher wouldn’t do,” Buhrman told WESH-TV.
On the same day in Texas, the quick response of a Northwest School District bus driver similarly saved the lives of her students.
According to Northwest school district spokeswoman Emily Conklin, the school bus was traveling south on Interstate 35W at 4 p.m. Wednesday when the students and bus driver Heather Bowen heard “popping” noises and spotted smoke. Bowen immediately pulled over and evacuated the 10 high school students, Conklin said, noting that she even left behind her personal belongings.
It took Fort Worth firefighters 20 minutes and several truckloads of water to put out the bus fire, which Bowen told CBS started in the rear of the vehicle. The Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire and estimates this will take five to seven days.
Bowen, who has driven without major incident for three years, said she was surprised by all the praise and attention she is receiving for simply doing her job.
She recalled hearing a loud noise on her school bus, and suddenly it would not go any faster than 45 miles an hour. As she drove on the interstate’s shoulder and headed for an off ramp, two drivers motioned to her and told her that the bus was on fire. Cell phone video shows Bowen ushering the students off the bus to safety as flames engulf the vehicle.
“We got out and we did see there were flames from the back of the bus, and we just moved farther and farther away,” she said, adding that it was amazing how everyone remained calm.
On Monday the district will recognize Bowen for her bravery at the school board meeting. Still, she does not consider herself a hero.
“I think it’s all adrenaline. You don’t think about it until parents start coming and they’re like, ‘Are you okay?’ And still the adrenaline is pumping until the end of the day,” Bowen continued. “I was thanking God that all the students were safe and they were off the bus. Just thanking God. He is awesome and he was there.”
Doug Becker, director of transportation at Frisco Independent School District, told STN that while the loss of a brand-new school bus on Nov. 18 was “unfortunate,” everyone at the district is so grateful that no deaths or injuries resulted from the fire.
“It was positive in terms of how well it was handled and the outcome that everyone was safe. It happened right before Thanksgiving break, so we were thankful no one was hurt, he said.
Becker added that the school district and transportation department officially recognized bus driver Jeremiah Grider and bus monitor Shylinda Meeks at a safety meeting that week.
“This bus driver responded like a champ. We really applauded his part. He did what he needed to do just as he was trained,” he said. “Before the fire department got there, the fire was increasing in intensity, and he had everyone backed away farther down the road from the bus just to maintain a safety barrier.”
Grider was transporting two students with special needs to a Frisco ISD middle school when he noticed smoke coming from the area of the bus radiator, Becker recounted. The driver pulled the bus to the side of the road and quickly evacuated the bus monitor and students out of the rear door of the school bus. Frisco firefighters arrived on scene at 8:20 a.m. to extinguish the fire, which took approximately 20 minutes.
“They tried to call in, but the radio wasn’t working, so they used their cellphones,” he said, referring to the bus driver and monitor. “It took the fire department about five minutes to get there, and by then the bus was engulfed in flames.”
Becker noted that the fire marshal has not completed the investigation or released any findings yet.
