Thick, black plumes of smoke and big flames could be seen coming from the bus parked on Birkdale Rd. Video / Brittany Fanning
Footage has emerged of a bus driver battling a fire taking hold at the rear of his bus on Auckland’s North Shore.
Plumes of thick, black smoke can be seen rising from the bus, and flames surround the back, creeping inside and beneath the bus when a section erupted infire this morning at rush hour near the intersection of Verran and Birkdale Rds.
Chef Brittany Fanning, who took the videos, said a woman came running into her restaurant about 8.30am saying a bus was going up in flames across the road.
The bus driver and another person were hurriedly trying to fight the blaze with fire extinguishers while they waited for firefighters.
It was about 10 minutes before fire trucks arrived, she said, and they were able to put out the remainder of the blaze.
Afterwards, it looked like a snowstorm had attacked the bus.
“It looks like it snowed all over the back of the bus, basically from the fire extinguisher, and the engine is black ... Right now, the tailgate’s open and it’s super black and all like all burnt. The whole inside of that engine is gone.”
The bus driver and another person fought the blaze before Fire and Emergency arrived. Photo / Brittany Fanning
Fire and Emergency said it was called to the scene on Birkdale Rd at 8.37am.
It sent two fire trucks, and there were no reports of injuries.
Auckland Transport said an out-of-service bus with no passengers on board caught fire outside the Birkenhead depot at 8.48am.
“Staff noticed smoke coming from the engine of the diesel-powered bus, and a crew from Fire and Emergency acted quickly to extinguish it.”
There were no injuries, and the cause of the fire would be investigated, AT said.
