Fire destroyed 15 school buses and burned several others Sunday morning. Firefighters are not sure how but said it started around 3:30 at the "First Student" bus yard, located just West of Highway 99 and South of Jensen.
Fresno Firefighter, Keola Park said only 5 buses were burning at first but the flames spread quickly, "the way the buses were parked, they were in close quarters, side by side, tightly parked next to each other making some difficulty getting hose line in between the buses."
Firefighters attacked the blaze from above and put it out in 40 minutes. First Student didn't allow our cameras on the property and the damage was hard to see from the street.
Firefighters released pictures of the aftermath showing burnt shells of those 15 buses. First Student said about ten percent of it's fleet was affected, buses that are used to take Fresno Unified special needs students to school.
First Student Spokesperson, Maureen Richmond said over the phone, "it should have very limited impact if any at all...we're working very closely with our partners at the school district to ensure we can provide safe and reliable transportation for students."
At this point, the cause of the fire is a mystery. The yard doesn't have surveillance cameras or security. Firefighters are still investigating and arson hasn't been ruled out.
Firefighters estimate the damage at $1 Million. First Student said it has back up buses and services shouldn't be affected.
TXT 24
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