CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - State officials are ordering state-wide inspections after a school bus caught fire in Charlotte earlier this month.
According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) School Transportation, preliminary reviews and inspections of the bus that caught fire point to the rubbing of the intake heater wire against the metal heater shutoff valve.
The rubbing was to the point that the wire covering was worn through possibly causing a short and the subsequent fire, the NCDPI said.
Tracey McClammy, whose son rides a CMS bus each day, is glad to hear about the inspections.
"It's kinda sad it had to come to state mandated but I think it's wonderful because it could save a lot of kid's lives," she said.
A fire broke out on a school bus on February 8 while 6 students were still onboard.
It happened in the 1200 block of Bearmore Drive in southeast Charlotte just before 5 p.m.
According to Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, six students and one driver were on the bus when the fire started. Everyone was evacuated safely, school officials told WBTV.
The bus - number 295 - was dropping off students from Chantilly Montessori School, CMS said.
WBTV contacted CMS Wednesday but the district has not said when the inspections will begin.
McClammy says she just hopes they act quickly.
"I think the quicker they can get them done, the safer all of our students will be on the buses," she said. "Because if it did happen on that one bus it could happen on a lot of them."
NCDPI School Transportation Services Section Chief Derek Graham said that he and his team are seeking clarification from Thomas Built Buses, but it appears probable that the buses with this situation are most likely from bus shipments received between summer 1998 through 1999.
Thomas Built Buses is completing a more detailed and exhaustive report on the February 8 bus fire, but state officials say local transportation officials should inspect all of the school buses and activity buses in this date range for similar wiring issues.
A memorandum and inspection message was sent Tuesday to all local school district transportation departments.
"We were very fortunate that the incident earlier this month did not result in any injuries to students or the bus driver," said Graham. "In that situation, only six students were on the bus, and the school bus driver reacted quickly and evacuated all students well before flames entered the passenger area.
Now that we have more information about the likely cause of this fire, we want to use this information to be more diligent in preventing any other incidents."
Although initial reports indicated that the fire started in the switch panel to the left of the driver, further inspection pointed to worn wire coverings as a likely cause.
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