When a school bus full of children caught fire, an Ohio bus driver knew exactly what they needed to do. En route to Monticello Middle School in the Cleveland Heights-University School District, a fire broke out behind one of the rear wheels. The unidentified bus driver helped 15 students off the bus and to safety. Pictures of the school bus engulfed in flames show just how tragic the situation could have been.
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Superintendent Liz Kirby shared her gratitude for the bus driver in a press release on the district’s website on February 27, 2025. It reads in part, “First and foremost, I can’t express how relieved I am that no one was hurt, and I am incredibly grateful for the quick response from the driver. I spoke with the driver today, and they credited the annual bus evacuation drills that drivers do with students with preparing them. (The driver has asked not to be identified, and we respect that request.) I also must credit the students for reacting so calmly and following the driver’s instructions to get to safety.”
The Cleveland Heights Fire Department also lauded the bus driver’s quick thinking. The fire department wrote, “The bus driver acted quickly and got all of the students off the bus and to safety. The bus had been heading to Monticello Middle School. Students were picked up by another district vehicle and transported to school. There were no injuries and the fire was quickly brought under control by the Cleveland Heights Fire Department.”
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Many people praised the unidentified bus driver on the fire department’s Facebook page.
One person emphasized the importance of drills writing: “This is exactly why we had school bus evacuation drills, twice every school year, when I was a kid taking the bus to school and back home and that has been and always will be good practice, just in case, something like this happens again, but, hopefully another incident like this one does not happen for a very long time!!“
Someone else agreed and commented: “Awesome Job by the Bus Driver and students to get off the bus…as a former bus driver we had training on this procedure! Glad everyone is safe!!!!”
Another person shared: “Wow! How scary I wonder why this happened kudos to the bus driver for getting the kids off the bus and everyone was safe wow.”
