Stagecoach bus bursts into flames

No passengers were on the bus that caught fire on Oteha Valley Rd.

A busy North Shore road was brought to a standstill last night when a Stagecoach bus burst into flames - the third one to do so in the past six months.

The Herald understands the bus was being driven back to the depot by a maintenance man when flames appeared from the back of it.

Albany resident Rex Auty was heading home from the beach along Oteha Valley Rd when he saw people waving at the intersection ahead of him. The next minute he heard a loud bang and saw the bus, which was on the side of the road, on fire.

"It was quite an inferno," said Mr Auty. "The back of the bus was well ablaze. There were a series of loud bangs as more and more parts of the bus exploded."

He said members of the public blocked off the road to prevent motorists driving into the path of the bus.

Oteha Valley Rd resident David McGrath was looking out his window when he saw the bus pull up near his house just before 7pm.

"It just pulled up at the bus stop on fire."

Mr McGrath said the fire started around the engine bay, causing insulation, plastic and rubber to burn.

Firefighters arrived about 15 minutes after the bus pulled up and the fire was extinguished with foam.

No passengers were on board the bus, which was handed over to the maintenance man after the driver experienced problems with the acceleration.

Stagecoach spokesman Russell Turnbull said a full investigation would be held into what caused the fire. In July Stagecoach management moved to reassure passengers its vehicles were safe after two buses caught fire within a week.

The first happened on a bus carrying about 50 passengers and was caused by an electrical fault at the rear of the bus.

The second happened on an empty bus travelling along KRd and was caused by a fuse at the front of the bus.

Mr Turnbull said it was too early to say what caused last night's blaze.

"Any bus fire we have is of concern and the main thing is to find out what we can do to make sure there is no connection between them that we need to be looking out for."

An investigation into the latest fire was expected to start first thing today.