School children escape Chilliwack bus fire unharmed
A bus carrying elementary school children on a field trip caught fire on a Chilliwack road Thursday, but all the passengers were able to get out safely before the blaze claimed the vehicle.
Responders arrived at approximately 9:20 a.m. to find the fire spreading quickly to nearby hedges and a workshop on private property.
Crews were able to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to the forested area at the base of Vedder Mountain. The 4400 block of Vedder Mountain Road was closed for hours as firefighters battled the blaze.
Chris Wilson, assistant fire chief at the Chilliwack Fire Department, says there were 25 to 30 passengers on board, including the driver.
"They were picked up by other buses and perhaps either returned home or continued with their scheduled trip," he said.
The bus and the workshop sustained heavy fire, smoke and water damage. Images from the scene show the bus completely charred after the fire was put out.
The blaze cut power to nearly 2,500 customers, but B.C. Hydro says it was restored a few hours later.
Wilson says there were no fire hydrants near the scene, and crews had to establish a rural water supply using water tender trucks.
"We activated our water tender trucks immediately to set up a water shuttle operation," he said. "We were also challenged by a very large volume of the fire that was quickly spreading with a dry forest condition."
The Chilliwack Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire, which broke out near Cultus Lake.
Angela Bergen, who lives nearby, says she heard a loud bang and went outside to take a look. She says the passengers were already off the bus.
"Where we live, we don't have a direct water source for the fire trucks to hook up to, so the trucks were actually having to basically tag team each other," said Bergen.
"Hopefully [the students] had a good day at Cultus Lake, but I'm just very impressed with the fire crew and the fact that they were able to keep things under control."
