Dear S-GI Families and Staff,
I’m writing to make you aware that one of our buses caught fire this morning near Johnson and Middle Roads. Thanks to the quick actions of our students and driver, everyone was evacuated safely. No other vehicles were involved. Fifteen of our SMS and SHS students were on the bus at the time of the incident. Another bus was quickly dispatched to the scene to ensure the students were out of the cold as quickly as possible. The students and driver were then cleared by EMS and allowed to report to their school buildings.
All of our buses are regularly subjected to a rigorous Department of Transportation inspection to ensure they are in good working order, and so the cause of this fire for this gasoline-powered bus is currently unknown. Erie County Sheriff’s Investigators will be analyzing the bus to try to isolate the cause.
I’m extremely grateful to our first responders for their prompt actions. Furthermore, thank you to everyone from the Transportation Department, Administrative team, and Clerical staff who assisted with this incident.
At S-GI, safety is always our highest priority from the moment a student sets foot on the bus to the time they are dropped off at home. Our trained bus drivers deal with a variety of situations depending on their route. We are proud of the way this unfortunate situation was handled.
James Bialasik
Superintendent of Schools