VIDEO: A coach bus caught fire Wednesday afternoon in Burlington, though all passengers were able to get off safely. Flames broke out on the Local Motion bus on Route 128 North around 1 p.m. No injuries were reported. Firefighters from Lexington and Burlington were on scene to put the fire out.
“He [bus driver] said it was a flat tire as soon as he got out of the bus, and he had noticed it was burning. It’s pretty common for those big tires to catch fire for the heat,” said Lexington Fire Chief Derek Sencabaugh.The ramp from Route 128 to Route 3 was closed due to the bus fire. Passenger Sarah Hill said everyone on the bus got off quickly. “We saw the smoke and immediately evacuated. We were off the bus in about 30 seconds,” she said.
In a statement, Tufts University said the bus was carrying about 20 international students who are participating in a summer English immersion program. The bus was on its way to a field trip at Lowell Mills.