Bus Catches Fire At West Orange School On Way To Track Meet

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A bus caught fire in front of a West Orange school on Thursday afternoon, but no students or staff were harmed, authorities said.

According to an alert from the West Orange Public School District, a charter bus from The Mayor Bus Company caught fire at Liberty Middle School. The bus was set to transport students to a track meet at the time of the conflagration, but nobody had boarded the vehicle, officials said.

Administrators declared a “shelter in place” at the school; emergency responders arrived on the scene to render aid.

“All students and staff are safe,” district administrators stated after the fire. No additional information was immediately available.

Several local community members expressed relief at the report of no injuries on social media:

• "I just saw it, I am happy they are safe."
• "I saw the remnant of the bus, it looked like the entire front engine hood area burned off completely."
• "This is so scary, thank goodness everyone’s safe though."

Keep updated with local public safety alerts at the Patch West Orange Facebook page. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

File Photo (not the bus in the above article): Shutterstock