Cause of Newcastle Bus Fire Remains Unknown

Thursday February 19, 2009

Investigation is underway to determine the cause of a fire that occurred on a Newcastle State Transit bus on Monday.

Seventeen State Transit buses were out of service in Newcastle after one burst into flames at 3.40pm at St Joseph's Primary School, Charleston. The remainder 16 Newcastle Buses fleet were given safety checks, declared safe and are being used again – but the cause of the fire remains unknown.

"Technical investigations are currently under way to determine the cause of the fire and extent of the damage to the vehicle," a State Transit spokeswoman reported to the Newcastle Herald. "Although given the nature of fire damage it can sometimes prove difficult to work out the exact cause."

The spokeswoman also said in the same report that another one of these buses caught on fire due to an electrical fault, so each bus in the fleet underwent maintenance to suggested by their manufacturer.

Two children were on the bus at the time the fire began but both followed emergency procedures and unharmed.

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