Earlier this month, an empty bus from the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) caught fire. In a recent statement, the district emphasized a continuing investigation as well as the safety precautions it is taking in light of the incident.
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The district indicated that it is conducting an internal investigation to learn more about the fire and also brought in an independent evaluator designated by the district’s insurance company. TUSD also removed bus models similar to the one that caught fire from routes until they learn more.
“Today we have decided we will take the ultimate precaution, and the buses that are very similar to the one where we had the incident occur have all been pulled offline, and we’re running other buses in their place,” said Superintendent Dr. H.T. Sanchez on Feb. 17.
Tucson News Now reported that a school board member called for the dismissal of whoever may have been responsible for the fire.
However, Sanchez said he believes technical glitches, not necessarily human error, may have caused the fire.
“I truly feel this is an issue of an equipment malfunction as opposed to a maintenance oversight,” he added. “I am very confident that our maintenance staff takes their job very seriously, because they understand that the precious cargo we transport every day are the futures of families as well as the futures of this community.”
