20 escape bus fire as firm defends handling of incident

Approximately 20 passengers had a lucky escape when the bus on which they were travelling caught fire on Sunday evening near Cork city centre.

The Bus Éireann 202 service from Mahon was near the city’s main bus depot on Parnell Place when the fire occurred at approximately 7.15pm. Two units of Cork city fire brigade brought the blaze under control within the hour, according to a statement from Bus Éireann.

The statement said the company understood “there were no injuries” and that passengers had been evacuated from the bus by the driver. “Measures and controls to deal with the incident were put in place,” the statement said.

Callers to local radio station RedFM painted a slightly different picture. One woman whose granddaughter was a passenger said there was panic on the bus and her granddaughter’s friend slipped and hurt her leg while running down the stairs of the double-decker.

Another caller said the driver disembarked from the bus after someone started banging on it and shouting while it was queued in traffic.

However, Bus Éireann said the driver disembarked after he noticed warning symbols on the dash board while in traffic on Parnell Place.

“He disembarked the bus to check the engine box at the rear, and confirmed there was a fire,” the statement said.

“The driver then returned to the bus immediately and alerted the passengers — and the bus was evacuated within 30 seconds. CCTV at Parnell Place confirms this,” the statement said.

Bus Éireann said the passengers dispersed and traffic was diverted.

The company said the bus was subsequently removed and a full investigation into the incident is now being conducted.