Mystery surrounds cause of N80 bus fire
The blazing bus caught on camera by a passing motorist
TEN passengers had to be evacuated from a burning bus on Friday evening after it burst into flames on the N80 between Carlow and Ballon.
Dramatic scenes emerged of flames whipping out of the back window of the bus at around 6pm before the driver pulled in off the road at Glynn crossroads, where he safely got the ten passengers off the bus and to safety. There were no reports of injuries, but the bus was completely destroyed.
The vehicle was owned by the Wexford Bus company and was bringing customers southwards from Carlow to Wexford when the blaze broke out.
A spokesperson for the company told : “The swift action taken by the driver ensured the bus was safely brought to a halt and calmly evacuated.”
She continued: “It wasn’t a pleasant thing to happen, but the main thing is that no-one was hurt and we’re very thankful for that.” The fire caused major disruption to traffic on the N80 at one of its busiest times, with the road subsequently being closed.
Members of Carlow Fire Service attended the scene but by the time they reached it, the fire was well established. They managed to put out the fire but just a shell of the bus remained.
Carlow Fire Service said: “Upon arrival, a bus was well alight with all passengers having been safely evacuated by the driver. The fire service closed the road, contained and quickly extinguished the fire with breathing apparatus teams and fire hoses. The scene was made safe and the road partially reopened, with emergency traffic management in place until diesel and debris deposited on the road was cleaned by the road crews of Carlow Co Council and the bus was recovered from the scene.”
The exact cause of the fire isn’t known but investigative works are being carried out by An Garda Síochána.
Wexford Bus said in a statement: ‘All safety protocols were followed. The vehicle involved was a modern coach with all necessary warning systems on board, thus ensuring the driver had time to safely stop the coach and evacuate the passengers. The emergency services were immediately called and nobody was injured. No cause for the fire has been determined but a full investigation is being undertaken.’
