Greater Sudbury has hired a forensic investigator to determine exactly why a city transit bus caught fire around 10 a.m. Oct. 7.
Ron Henderson, the city's general manager of assets, transit and fleet, said Friday they have no idea yet why a Sudbury Transit bus caught fire on Cedar Street, forcing the evacuation of 10 passengers and the bus driver.
"The investigation is still very preliminary," Henderson said. "What I can tell you is that we've hired a forensic investigator that specializes in these types of incidents. He'll be here sometime (this week) and we'll get to the bottom of this."
Henderson praised the action of the bus driver, who quickly got the passengers to safety when he noticed the smoke coming from the rear end of the bus.
"We're very thankful that everyone was evacuated safely and I want to commend the actions of the driver who took quick action," he said. "That was the most positive aspect of this incident."
The bus, which is blackened and damaged, has been transported to the city transit garage on Lorne Street, where the investigator will take a look at it. This is the second bus to catch fire this year, with a similar incident taking place in May.
"It's still very unusual for two such incidents to happen in such a close timeframe,” Henderson said. “Fires on buses don't happen regularly. We have a regular inspection program for all of our buses. They are all roadworthy and safe."
The bus was a 2011 model, relatively new considering a bus is normally kept on the road for 12-15 years after purchase, he said.
"Our buses travel about 80,000 kilometres a year," he said. "It had nothing to do with the age of the bus."
