The driver and passengers on an Off Campus College Transport blue bus were able to evacuate before it caught fire at University Plaza Saturday morning.
Photo Courtesy of Peter Ackerman
Two passengers and driver Cheuk Wa Wong were safely evacuated from the bus after Wong noticed white smoke seeping from the front vent. OCCT staff immediately called 911.
An OCCT coordinator who was on call for emergencies was at the site immediately. He and the bus driver tried to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher, which each bus carries, until Vestal Fire Department and Vestal Police responded to the scene. The fire was extinguished in 10 minutes, but by that point the bus, which had been on the Triple Cities route, had completely burned down.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Vestal Fire Department, according to Assistant Fire Chief Chuck Paffie.
“We are leaning towards an electrical cause,” Paffie said.
The bus, from the company Thomas Built Buses, was approximately one year old at the time of the fire, said Adam Amit, chair of the OCCT board of directors and Student Association president.
According to Amit, the University owns 11 buses, including the one involved in Saturday’s fire, that are used by OCCT. There is currently no exact time frame in place for replacing buses.
Paffie noted that fires of electrical cause are not common on buses.
The fire department examined the bus and compared it to another one of the same series to determine what caused the problem. These buses are awaiting inspection by the New York State Department of Transportation, said OCCT Service Manager Giovanni Torres.
“This is the only fire on an OCCT bus that I can recall in the 14 years I’ve worked here,” said Off Campus College director David Husch.
Amit could not comment on Saturday’s fire because of the pending investigation.
“We’re very thankful that no one was hurt in Saturday’s incident,” said Gail Glover, spokeswoman for Binghamton University. “I must commend Cheuk Wa Wong, the bus driver, whose quick action ensured that the two passengers got off the bus safely.”
According to Glover, the safety of students is primary concern, and the University anticipates full cooperation and participation of the bus manufacturer in investigation.
“OCC Transport continues to try to provide safe and reliable transportation to the BU community,” Torres stated in a press release.
UPDATED April 15:
On Tuesday OCCT temporarily took some buses out of service for inspection, according to a B-Line e-mail from administration.
The B-Line directed students who normally ride the Triple Cities route to www.ridebctransit.com/transit/routes for the BC transit bus schedules and route maps.
As of 8 p.m. Thursday night, students had been notified that the buses are running again.