School bus catches fire with kids inside in an Ontario city

A quick-thinking passerby alerted a school bus driver in Oshawa that his bus was on fire Wednesday morning, giving the driver time to safely escort the children off the vehicle.

Cassie Differ was earning praise on social media for her actions after she was able to warn the bus driver that smoke and flames were spewing out from under the vehicle as it waited near Centre Street and Gibb Street south of downtown.

“I just started seeing smoke like a car being overheated,” Differ said on Facebook. “I’m like, ‘Get out now. Your bus is on fire. Get the kids out now’ and I was screaming it because the flames were getting bigger and bigger underneath.”

Smoke and flames can be spotted coming from the Stock Transportation in several images on social media, with the fire starting around 8:30 a.m.

Oshawa Fire crews were on the scene for about an hour but have not yet responded publicly to the incident

Photo Laurie Cara