A charred and stranded city bus surrounded by emergency crews on a busy Calgary thoroughfare caught the attention of weather-weary drivers on southbound Deerfoot Trail yesterday morning.
Just after 10:30 a.m., the Calgary Fire Department arrived at the scene between McKnight Blvd. and 32 Ave. on Deerfoot south and closed down the two right hand lanes — causing traffic headaches much past McKnight, while firefighters worked to control the flames.
At the time, no one knew how it had started.
“It was on fire, that’s all we know,” said Reiner Popka, one of the firefighters who responded. “And we put it out.”
The driver, who was a mechanic, had been taking the bus for a test drive when the exhaust pipe overheated, causing the fiberglass rear panel, where the exhaust pipe runs, to ignite. Only the driver was on board at the time and got off the bus without injuries.
Damage to the bus is estimated at $10,000. No other injuries were reported.
