Gwinnett, GA Bus Catches on Fire

Jessica Smagacz

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Gwinnett County in Georgia had their second bus fire this past Thursday morning on I-85 North near Indian Trial, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).

The first time a Gwinnett bus caught on fire was March 27th on Nancy Hanks Drive near Best Friend Road in Norcross. The cause of the fire was blamed on a faulty turbo charger. The result of this fire had the driver and a passenger abandon the 42 seat bus.

For this current bus fire that happened on Thursday, two Gwinnett County fire engines were sent out just before 8 a.m. to the bus that was pulled over in the emergency lane on I-85. Heavy smoke was coming from the engine compartment of the bus and the fire was located pretty quickly. The fire fighters extinguished the fire fast and there was only damage to the engine compartment. Fortunately, there were no passengers on this bus.

AJC says that the cause of the two fires appears to be the same—a turbo charger in the exhaust system. This is a great concern to Gwinnett Transit officials. Phil Boyd, director of Gwinnett Transit said, “It was the same kind of failure. Turbo chargers, which are on all diesel engines, seem to be the weak link in the whole design.”