(Medina is the woman in blue jeans and shirt with her back to the camera standing besides the bus. She did not speak with reporters.)
The bus burned for almost 20 minutes before the firefighters from the Brownsville Fire Department arrived, according to workers of local businesses. The bus driver stopped just short on the US 77/83 frontage road at the intersection with 14th Street at about 4:30 p.m. Friday after she noticed flames licking from the front of the bus.
According to workers from neighboring businesses, it was almost 20 minutes before the first fire truck arrived.
"Se tomaron mucho tiempo pa' llegar," said a worker at a used-car lot witnessing the scene.
According to BISD Transportation director Art Rendon, Medina's cool-headed response to the emergency saved the day. She herded the confused students – going home after attending a Porter High School homecoming rally – to the rear exit of the bus after the smoke began to permeate the front of the bus.
"She had the presence of mind to direct them to the rear exit when the smoke began to fill the bus," he said. "She then took them to the other side of the frontage road to safety. The fire was very hot and melted the entire hood and blew out the windows."Rendon said it was the second electrical fire involving an International bus in recent memory.
Witnesses at the scene were at a loss to explain the delay of the firefighters at the scene. One person who called 911 estimated it took a full 20 minutes for the first fire engine to arrive. By that time, the students were safe but the intensity and duration of the fire melted most of the front section of the bus and burned through the entire length of the vehicle.
"If it hadn't been for Norma Medina getting the students out like she did, I hate to think what could have happened," Rendon said. "We are still looking at the reports to see how this happened."
Witnesses said that flames started in the engine compartment and then grew quickly and spread through the front and then the entire length of the vehicle as students scrambled from the burning hulk.
A Porter High School administrator at the scene said all the students were accounted for and safe.
15 comments:
What's happening in BISD??? First a transformer at Hanna and now a Porter bus. Is the friction among the BISD Trustees causing the place to ignite? If only the Trustees could be counted on in the way Ms. Medina protected the students on her bus. Bravo for her and thank you Ms. Medina for protecting our children.
The stalled traffic made it impossible to get the fire truck through. The Black smoke brought visibility to 0%, so no one moved through the area, making it impossible to get the Fire Truck through. Smoke engulfed the entire intersection in all directions, so every vehicle came to a stand still. Explain how you can get a Fire Truck through went all streets are blocked by vehicular traffic? Come on Juanio do your research, don't run with the story without getting all the details. Shame on You!!!!!!!!!!!!! To the Bus Driver; THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR A JOB EXCELLENTLY DONE!!!! KUDOS TO HER!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can hear it now. 29 kids on the bus, 400 will use the excuse "the flames ate my homework."
Instead of praising the driver, you should blast the idiot mechanic at the BUS barn who last serviced this motor.
He should be fired immediately, regardless. Just to set an exammple if nothing else.
No one is ever held accountable at BISD, PUB, BND, UTB, BEDC, GBIC, the City, County, etc. Why is there no accountability in public entity's in Brownsville ? Who guaranteed them jobs for life ? Are these thousands of emmployee's all perfect ?
Puro bola de compadres verdad?
Thank you for keeping us informed, since the BH is always one sided.
Great job, and a Huge thanks to Ms. Norma Medina, could have been a worst situation where students may have ben hurt or otherwise. thank you for being there. SK
Let us not forget the students. Thank them for following the instructions from the bus driver, Ms. Medina, thank the standard operating procedures in place for what to do when a bus full of students catches fire. Thank God that all are safe.
The mechanics at the BISD bus barn only work with what they have. Like the buses, BISD has computers that are outdated, student seats that have been in the same classroom since the opening of the school, A/C's that are over 10 years old and keep on being "serviced" instead of changed. I went to visit a friend at a middle school after regular school hours; she had a teacher desk missing one leg, some student desks without a flat support top, no internet or computer in her portable. Brownsville PUB "fixed" the problem with the transformer at the Hanna HS station but could not fix the street lights right next door, they have been reported for over 8 days. Some residential streets look more like moon craters and city workers use a little shovel to patch streets by the Brownsville Police Department. The grass under the expressway is over a foot high and nobody does a thing about it, but if that grass in high in a residential area, watch out because you will get ticketed. Our mayor and comissioners are waiting for cyclobia and the salsa and the beer festivals to get a picture in the Herald or in the city channel, in the meantime you can call the "HELP" line, they take your information and blow you off, other Valley cities are moving forward while this town from UTB, BISD and the city is moving two steps back every day.
Is this one of the buses Chirinos purchased and he and Minerva Pena were against the company Mr. Rendon was recommending just because they dislike Rendon not thinking of the students lifes.
What dummies, hope they didn't go with the same company.
We are so lucky this was not a tragedy, it was a very close call.
The ones to blame are the board members that are more interested in spending money on consultants, attorneys and software programs that are not needed or don't work instead of buying more buses.
Is this Believing in BISD?? Bullshit!
Post 10:49 am, know nothing about vehicles and the fact that mechanic can not predict this type of fire in an engine. Could it be that all the electrical system is being overloaded with all the Camera on those buses? That is what one parent asked a teacher. Can anyone look into that?
8:06 Esta BISD salado por culpa de Enrique, Minerva, Hector, Otis, y Cesar????????
A big Thank you to the board of BISD- Brownsville Independent Shit dictators for not buying any new school buses. Just think if these 29 students and one driver were all hurt or anyone killed by this bus fire, what a hell of a lawsuit. Muncho dinero.$$$$$$. EMS
No! BISD esta salado por la bruja Catalina Presas-Garcia. Almite la verda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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