A TUSD bus caught fire Friday afternoon at Whitmore Elementary School before schoolchildren were let out.
This is the second bus fire in the Tucson Unified School District in a year.
The bus did not have any children on board, and no one was injured, authorities said.
Tucson Fire Department crews responded to the school, 5330 E. Glenn St., and put the fire out. The driver of the 2008 Thomas bus noticed smoke and was able to get off the bus before the fire erupted, Stefanie Boe, a district spokesman, said in a news release.
Boe said the bus was towed to the district’s bus barn for investigation.
Mechanics will work over the weekend to examine all 2008 Thomas buses in operation to make sure they are safe, Boe said. The district does not expect any interruption of bus service next week.
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The bus that caught fire Friday is a different year, make and model from a bus that burst into flames in February 2015 on a downtown street.
That fire was traced to wiring on an add-on air conditioner, Boe said. District officials said that bus was valued at about $145,000.
