my bus fire experience

chillywilly

you might have read or seen this on the news over the last couple of days.

i was going down to carlow with 9 friends of mine on sunday for a party. We were getting the Dublin-Waterford bus and everything was going fine until we were driving through Blessington.

I said to my mate that i could smell smoke, and he agreed. He looked to his feet and saw smoke rising from under his feet. We then knew something was wrong and so i then warned my friends to get up and out of the bus, this was really confusing to them because they hadnt a clue what was goin on.....

then everyone copped on when then bus driver stopped the bus and opened the emergency exit. I have to say the bus driver was a hero although not all the passengers thought so, i saw some passengers giving out to him, probably about his luggage on the bus but it clearly wasnt the drivers fault.

When everyone copped on the seriousness of the situation they set into panic mode. i was getting pushed and so i got out the emergency exit and saw flames under the bus, i was thinking "this is gonna blow!"

i left my bag and jacket on the bus but it turns out my mate had taken the bag with him!! My wallet and money were in my jacket but i stil think i was better off with my life!!

everyone got off the bus and within 20 minutes the whole bus was ablaze.
i was i little bit shaken and my hands were less than steady. No one could believe had happened but at least everyone was alive.

1 factor that could have potentially saved our lives was that a car behind us was beeping at us to try let the driver know that there was smoke coming from the back. When the driver saw this, he stopped.

everyone got their luggage from the bag storage but some of it was damaged and all of them stank of fire.

alot of people lost stuff that they left behind and im sure will be going for compensation.

they sent another bus out and we carried on, but not everyone got back on the bus, i dont know why they didnt get on, maybe feared it would happen again, because i saw people that looked really shook up by this.

after the fire was put out i asked the fireman what caused the fire but he said he didnt know. I told him where i was siting(very back, right over where it started) and he sadi that me and my friands were very lucky to be here. That kind of hit me that if the driver behind us didnt warn us of the smoke then the bus could have blown as we drove....which would have killed my friends and I first :eek:

it was an experience i will never forget and now im just wondering how bus eireann can let these buses on the road and if it could happen again but the next time there could be lives lost.

Miss Fluff

Holy smoke (apologies for pun hon;) )
Thank God you are alright, could have been catastrophic. How old was the bus? Seems like Bus Eireann are still sending antiquated vehicles on long journeys. One would think they would have learnt a lesson after the tragedy in Navan last year.:mad:

chillywilly

oh and here is a picture my mate took, our seats were nothing but metal frames

Miss Fluff

Sweet.Baby.Jesus.
How do you feel today? Are you a bit shell shocked? You had such a lucky escape!!!!!

chillywilly

Miss Fluff wrote:

Holy smoke (apologies for pun hon;) )
Thank God you are alright, could have been catastrophic. How old was the bus? Seems like Bus Eireann are still sending antiquated vehicles on long journeys. One would think they would have learnt a lesson after the tragedy in Navan last year.:mad:

thats the thing, the bus was only a '03 reg:eek:

we were shocked and cant wiat for results as to what happened...im guessing some kind of electrical thing but one pasenher said he saw oil leeking but ill wait for the experts to decide!!

chillywilly

im ok now i think, i just keep on thinking back and thinking "no that couldnt have happened" but then you think "yes it did"

its a weird feeling!!

Mrs_Doyle

Wow! That's pretty scary stuff, I am really glad your ok.

mike65

Yikes! Poor maintainence is sadly all too likely, I get the impression they do bearly enough which may down to incompetence or lazyness but it could a result of lack of resources/time when a bus goes in for scheduled work.

Mike.

Ruu_Old

Mad stuff, glad you are safe and well anyway OP. I can see why some people were afraid to get back on the bus though.

chillywilly

ye maybe more time is need for more services on bus eireann buses, it doesnt matter how much money they spend, if it saves even 1 life they did something right

monkeyfudge

chillywilly wrote:

thats the thing, the bus was only a '03 reg:eek:

Ah well in that case 'they don't make them like they used to'

free2fly

Yikes! That's really frightening. You're lucky to be alive. I'm glad you're ok.

Lust4Life

Wow! So there is no suspect of foul play?
That is just wild!
Glad you are safe and all in one piece!

bluto63

Did anyone get hurt?

John R

Miss Fluff wrote:

Holy smoke (apologies for pun hon;) )
Thank God you are alright, could have been catastrophic. How old was the bus? Seems like Bus Eireann are still sending antiquated vehicles on long journeys. One would think they would have learnt a lesson after the tragedy in Navan last year.:mad:

Try not to leap to conclusions, you have absolutely no idea what factors were involved.

chillywilly

bluto63 wrote:

Did anyone get hurt?

no thank god, just peopler shook up!!

Lump

Meh, diesel doesn't explode. I was working one day in a petrol station and a car caught fire just off the forecourt. I went out to try put it out, while some one rang the fire brigade, but couldn't get in to the engine. After about 10 minutes there was still no one arriving, so I rang 999 again, and pointed out that the flaming car was about 15 feet from 70,000 gallons of petrol. The woman on the phone was like "Oh, we didn't realise that" about 3 brigades, 4 squad cars and a detectives car turned up. Almost as crazy as when some one "Accidently" pressed the panic alarm.

Good that no one was hurt though.

John

Wishbone Ash

Sorry for your troubles chillywilly :eek:.

chillywilly wrote:

i then warned my friends to get up and out of the bus, this was really confusing to them because they hadnt a clue

I presume you said that the bus was on fire. What is confusing about that? Are your friends of sound mind?

i was thinking "this is gonna blow!"

Diesel does not tend to 'blow' unlike petrol.

im just wondering how bus eireann can let these buses on the road

It's a bit unfair to blame Bus Eireann at this stage. It could be a manufacturers fault or it could be malicious.

Some buses have engine fire extinguishers which engage automatically when a fire begin. I thought BE had installed these? Maybe some of BE/DB Boardies could confirm/deny.

John R

chillywilly wrote:

after the fire was put out i asked the fireman what caused the fire but he said he didnt know. I told him where i was siting(very back, right over where it started) and he sadi that me and my friands were very lucky to be here. That kind of hit me that if the driver behind us didnt warn us of the smoke then the bus could have blown as we drove....which would have killed my friends and I first :eek:

Although I can see why you would think that, it is very unlikely that the fire would have spread to the passenger area while the bus was moving at speed.

It is not unusual for bus fires to go like this, the airflow through the engine bay keeps the fire contained until the bus is stopped. Once stopped it only takes a few minutes for the fire to take hold.

Diesel is not nearly as flammable as people think, it is not often that diesel tanks explode even in serious fires and certainly not before it is obvious that there is a serious problem.

chillywilly wrote:

it was an experience i will never forget and now im just wondering how bus eireann can let these buses on the road and if it could happen again but the next time there could be lives lost.

Bus fires do happen, it can be a sign of poor maintenance but it can also just be bad luck.

Odds are that there was a fuel leak in the engine bay or possibly an oil leak.

There is a weakness with the design of certain bus engine layouts, the fuel line can break and the way it is is positioned it sprays fuel on the hottest parts of the engine.

Buses are more prone to these faults turning into fires because of the extensive heat shielding around the engine bay. It does seem to be a bigger issue with newer designs than old ones, probably because the engine bays are more cramped to maximise load space.

There has been a spate of fires in numerous fleets with a number of different types of buses in recent years, Both CIE companies have had them as well as a number of other operators in the UK and Europe, there was a particular problem with new Mercedes bendy buses in London and elsewhere a few years ago.

AFAIK there have been no serious injuries in any of these incidents, luckily there has been enough time to evacuate before the fires have taken hold.

John R

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Sorry for your troubles chillywilly :eek:.

I presume you said that the bus was on fire. What is confusing about that? Are your friends of sound mind?

I was thinking that myself. Anyone that is confused by "bus on fire, get the fuk out" needs looking at.

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Some buses have engine fire extinguishers which engage automatically when a fire begin. I thought BE had installed these? Maybe some of BE/DB Boardies could confirm/deny.

I would have thought this bus would have had, it is a modern design and BE tend to buy high-spec levels for their coaches.

this
is the type of coach involved, the spec sheet may say so.

I am not aware of fires being a common occourence with these coaches, BE have 40 of them. There have been a number of fires on other Volvo city buses with BE and DB recently however.

DublinWriter

mike65 wrote:

Yikes! Poor maintainence is sadly all too likely

Damn right.

The bus was obviously diesel-powered. You could throw a match into a bucket of diesel and it won't ignite.

Meaning there was some serious issue with the engine (you say you were at the back of the bus when you noticed the smoke).

I'm surpised the incident didn't make the papers, given recent Bus-Eireann sponsored trajedies.

Savman

chillywilly wrote:

the bus was only a '03 reg:eek:

Christ.I'll join in with a ":eek:"

Victor

Lump wrote:

After about 10 minutes there was still no one arriving, so I rang 999 again, and pointed out that the flaming car was about 15 feet from 70,000 gallons of petrol. The woman on the phone was like "Oh, we didn't realise that" about 3 brigades, 4 squad cars and a detectives car turned up.

Neighbour's fuse board .... exploded. 4 fire trucks, 4 Garda cars.

Lump

They take that ****e seriously

chillywilly

I presume you said that the bus was on fire. What is confusing about that? Are your friends of sound mind?

I was thinking that myself. Anyone that is confused by "bus on fire, get the fuk out" needs looking at.

i think confused was a bad word, its just that in this kind of unlikely situation when someone tells you the bus is on fire i think they were just looking at me thinking "ye right" or "is he serious" or went into shock possibly, my friends are not idiots, and please no one comeback saying something like "yes they are" as i said its different when this is actually happening to you, a thousand things run through your mind.

Diesel does not tend to 'blow' unlike petrol.

ok fair enough, but when you see flames under a bus i think most people would think "get the fook away, it could blow up". am i wrong?

It's a bit unfair to blame Bus Eireann at this stage. It could be a manufacturers fault or it could be malicious.

ye its true, im going to have to wait for an investigation.

chillywilly

I'm surpised the incident didn't make the papers, given recent Bus-Eireann sponsored trajedies.

it did, it was in the star on monday, pg 2 and they were talking about it on joe duffy apparently but i missed it:rolleyes:

Lump

Meh, I've been in a similar situation as described above, and I don't think a million things go through your mind. I think the main this is that you get off the bus!

John

chillywilly

well i didnt think "meh", i felt my life was in danger, but people react in different ways i suppose

Lump

Oh well, you're fine.

Wishbone Ash

On a similar topic:

I heard reports that a Dublin Bus 'bendi' was destroyed by fire this evening at Harristown. Any of our regular Dublin Bus drivers know anything about it?


(Mods - Could this thread be moved to Commuting and Transport?)

Red Alert

There have been a few issues with the VC series buses, but the one you've shown is a good bit newer.

It might have been a short-circuit in the battery system or its charger: automotive batteries can supply large amounts of current (because they need to be able to start the engine) so a short circuit can be very serious if it's in an unfused area.

Another possibility is faulty diesel heaters if the bus was fitted with them (i'm not sure whether the BE saloons as a rule have diesel or engine-coolant heaters), although newer volvo buses tend to have genuine Eberspacher units which have an unbeaten safety record.
EDIT: If i'm right (and the above poster is a BE driver) he might be able to shed some light on whether they've diesel or engine units

The Real B-man

Make ya wanna get the train but thats not much better either i was on a train to waterford irony lol and the aircon unit overflowed on to this woemen covering her in ice cold water puts faith in public transport:rolleyes:

Mossy Monk

first time hearing of this bus catching fire. nice buses too that particular model

Capt'n Midnight

chillywilly wrote:

ye maybe more time is need for more services on bus eireann buses, it doesnt matter how much money they spend, if it saves even 1 life they did something right

Was it a Genuine Bus Eireann bus or a sub-contractors ?

Wishbone Ash

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Was it a Genuine Bus Eireann bus or a sub-contractors ?

From the pic provided, it appears to be a BE bus.

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/30808/35404.jpg

Seth Brundle

When I was in UCD (early to mid 90s) we were brought on field trips quite frequently and the busses were supplied by BE.
With abouot 75% of the trips there was some kind of incident or another. They would either not turn up (with some kind of mechanical excuse) and a replacement would be brought much later or they would break down somewhere along the trip.
The worst was when we were heading down the N7 at Rathcoole. Suddenly the bus driver was beeping the horn madly coming up to a set of amber lights. The artic in front had the cop to keep going and the bus coasted to a halt down the road beside an Esso station. Its brakes had died somehow. :eek:
Luckily for the driver, there was a girder sticking out from the artic's trailer. Had the artic stopped for the lights...
Anyhow, the driver rang HQ and ordered another bus which apparently broke down and after about 90 minutes another one arrived along with an inspector. The driver ripped shreds out of the inspector who escorted him away in the car.

BE's attitude towards maintenance IMO was extremely poor back then. Given the accidents over the few years, it seems that little has changed!

RoundyMooney

Well, judging purely by visual experience (as it's years since I boarded a BE bus), if there is a maintenance regime, it certainly doesn't extend to exterior cleanliness and bodywork.

Nearly new buses that haven't seen their second Christmas yet sport missing panels, multiple battle scars, and exhaust residue and road grime all over them. It beggars belief that such a large capital investment as represented by a luxury coach is not subject to more rigorous upkeep and repair. Talk about false economy!

On the other side of the coin, I found, (and still do, from a road users standpoint) the skills and calibre of BE's drivers to be above reproach.

John R

RoundyMooney wrote:

Well, judging purely by visual experience (as it's years since I boarded a BE bus), if there is a maintenance regime, it certainly doesn't extend to exterior cleanliness and bodywork.

Nearly new buses that haven't seen their second Christmas yet sport missing panels, multiple battle scars, and exhaust residue and road grime all over them. It beggars belief that such a large capital investment as represented by a luxury coach is not subject to more rigorous upkeep and repair. Talk about false economy!

You wouldn't by any chance live in Cork would you?

The standards in BE's Cork depot are very poor, particularly regarding the appearance of their fleet. Minor things like dents, panels and paintwork are not taken care of for extended periods. It makes their fleet, which is now relatively modern look very poor.

And don't even think of mentioning the bus wash that is incapable of washing any of the newer coaches with fixed mirrors.

Victor

Lump wrote:

Meh, I've been in a similar situation as described above, and I don't think a million things go through your mind. I think the main this is that you get off the bus!

I was in a car accident once. The car was full of smoke. I threw open the door, but I couldn't move. My life flashed before my eyes and that life was 3 seconds long. At which point I said 'screw this' and took off my seat belt.

Seth Brundle

Victor wrote:

My life flashed before my eyes and that life was 3 seconds long.

How much of the 3 seconds was of boards?

challengemaster

chillywilly wrote:

after the fire was put out i asked the fireman what caused the fire but he said he didnt know. I told him where i was siting(very back, right over where it started) and he sadi that me and my friands were very lucky to be here. That kind of hit me that if the driver behind us didnt warn us of the smoke then the bus could have blown as we drove....which would have killed my friends and I first :eek:

tbh you were actually more safe driving on. this may sound stupid but its true. if you look @ the fire triangle, fire needs 3 things to actually be lit. they're oxygen, flame, and fuel. now, while you were moving @ some sort of speed, its hard for the fire to take in oxygen, whereas when you stopped, it got proper oxygen and like you said, the bus lit up like a christmas tree.


anyway, hope you're ok mate

Victor

kbannon wrote:

How much of the 3 seconds was of boards?

Erm, car full of smoke, me stuck. The three seconds were the expected length of my life from that point.

Capt'n Midnight

challengemaster wrote:

tbh you were actually more safe driving on. this may sound stupid but its true. if you look @ the fire triangle, fire needs 3 things to actually be lit. they're oxygen, flame, and fuel. now, while you were moving @ some sort of speed, its hard for the fire to take in oxygen, whereas when you stopped, it got proper oxygen and like you said, the bus lit up like a christmas tree.

Please explain,
"Fanning the flames"
Firestorms
Jet engines

Thrill

challengemaster wrote:

tbh you were actually more safe driving on. this may sound stupid but its true. if you look @ the fire triangle, fire needs 3 things to actually be lit. they're oxygen, flame, and fuel. now, while you were moving @ some sort of speed, its hard for the fire to take in oxygen, whereas when you stopped, it got proper oxygen and like you said, the bus lit up like a christmas tree.

Exactly how long where they supposed to keep going for?
And im sure the first thing that popped into the drivers head wasnt "hhmmm now how fast do i have to go to to make sure that the fire is starved of oxygen?"
More like "lets get off this bleedin bus as fast as possible"

Ruu_Old

challengemaster wrote:

tbh you were actually more safe driving on. this may sound stupid but its true. if you look @ the fire triangle, fire needs 3 things to actually be lit. they're oxygen, flame, and fuel. now, while you were moving @ some sort of speed, its hard for the fire to take in oxygen, whereas when you stopped, it got proper oxygen and like you said, the bus lit up like a christmas tree.

Hehe, don't think that would work, old chum. Definitely no time to think about these sort of thing when its on fire, like the others have mentioned, you'd be "get me offa this cnut of a bus!"

DublinEvents

Yup, by the sounds of it, it does seem like the cause was something electrical, probably a short circuit. The picture of the bus is indeed grim. Maybe all the survivors should send a nice gift to the driver with a “Thanks for saving our lives!” note.

rossious

Gotta love boards, 1 bus incident, followed by lots of explanations, other BE stories, a train story and even a bus plan from Volvo. Bet the investigators just wait on here, print the completed thread, and file it as their accident report! :-p

johnnyrotten

challengemaster wrote:

tbh you were actually more safe driving on. this may sound stupid but its true. if you look @ the fire triangle, fire needs 3 things to actually be lit. they're oxygen, flame, and fuel. now, while you were moving @ some sort of speed, its hard for the fire to take in oxygen, whereas when you stopped, it got proper oxygen and like you said, the bus lit up like a christmas tree.


anyway, hope you're ok mate

Triangle of Fire is actually Oxygen, Heat & Fuel

The_B_Man

its all a bit too Final Destination-y for me...

you notice and random household items flying around or falling like a big evil murderous domino course?

deisedevil

rossious wrote:

Gotta love boards, 1 bus incident, followed by lots of explanations, other BE stories, a train story and even a bus plan from Volvo. Bet the investigators just wait on here, print the completed thread, and file it as their accident report! :-p

LMAO! Exactly what i was thinking.
I know it seems to have been a scary experience for you op but i'd say tbh it was far from a life or death experience.