Children unharmed in bus fire on Anzac Avenue, Rothwell

At 7.50am this morning, Fire Services and Police were called to a bus stop at Anzac Avenue (eastbound), near Gynther Road, Rothwell, to attend a blazing bus carrying 11 school students from Hercules Road State School.

The Kangaroo Lines bus had caught fire near the engine bay in the rear of the bus. The driver managed to pull to the side of the road, out of direct traffic flow and the primary school students evacuated safely and moved a safe distance from the vehicle.

QAS Units on standby at Bus fire near Wattle rd #Rothwell. No injuries reported. @QldFES pic.twitter.com/WM81qmL4Fb

— Queensland Ambulance (@QldAmbulance) January 29, 2017

The Bus Driver used two extinguishers in an attempt to extinguish the fire, which was unsuccessful.

Local school, Hercules Road State School, responded by alerting parents of the incident in a timely manner. The students are being monitored by their Principal for signs of trauma.

The Operations Supervisor of Kangaroo Bus Lines attended the school to ensure that everyone was unharmed and  to offer trauma counselling services to the parents for the children affected.

The affected engine type was identified and all Kangaroo Bus Line vehicles with the same engine were inspected by their mechanics prior to deploying on the afternoon school runs. Further investigations continue.

The bus driver has been praised for his quick thinking by the Principal and parents. All passengers were accounted for.

Image credit: Tim Cronan via facebook

A statement was issued on their facebook page: 

Kangaroo Bus Lines would like to acknowledge that an incident took place this morning on Anzac Avenue, Rothwell at around 7:50am involving one of our buses.

We just wanted to let everyone know that all passengers on board the bus were evacuated quickly and efficiently by our driver. Passengers were transferred to an alternate service and delivered safe and sound to their destination. Due to the quick thinking and fast actions of the driver involved there were no injuries and a more serious situation was avoided.