CHARLOTTE, N.C. — All students were safely evacuated after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver noticed smoke on the bus, the district confirmed to WCNC Charlotte.
It happened around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday in the area of Old Ardrey Kell Road and Providence Road West, according to the Charlotte Fire Department.
Bus 32 was on a route from Charles Parker Elementary School when the bus driver noticed smoke and pulled the bus over. After the driver evacuated students off the bus, CMS said parents picked up their students to take them home.
Charlotte Fire said when it arrived on the scene, the Carolina Volunteer Fire Department had also arrived, and both agencies extinguished the fire together. The students and bus driver had already gotten off the bus by this time.
The district said its bus drivers are given safety training every year in order to be prepared for multiple situations such as emergency evacuations.
Bus 32 did not have any safety concerns from its last inspection, according to the district. The district did not say when the last inspection took place.
The cause of the fire is under investigation at this time. Charlotte Fire said there was fire damage to the engine compartment, driver's seat, and first row of seats on the bus -- but no reported injuries.
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