Marching band bus catches on fire after competition

By Zoe Howard

Staff Writer

A school bus transporting colorguard, percussion and marching band members from the Bands of America Southern California Regional Championship at Warren High School caught on fire on Saturday in the Mira Costa parking lot.

Students noticed smoke from the exterior of the bus when they arrived in the Costa parking lot, Band Boosters Co-President Aeran Koch said in an email to marching band and colorguard families. Costa marching band center snare drummer and senior Kaylee Lo took a fire extinguisher from the band room to put out the fire in the back of the bus.

“The first thing everyone noticed was the smell of burning rubber, but we couldn’t exactly identify where the smell was coming from until we got back to the school and people began noticing how much smoke there was,” Lo said.

According to Lo, she saw fire in the back tires of the bus and asked around to see where the nearest fire extinguisher was because she wasn’t sure if there was one closer and more accessible than the one in the band room.

“My entire reaction occurred over the span of only a few seconds,” Lo said. “My first thought was to make sure that everyone was okay and my first instinct was to get the extinguisher to put it out.”

Koch has notified Global Bus Transportation, the bus company, of band’s safety concerns and has recommended to MBUSD Facilities and MBX that the company is removed from the district approved list. Tumbleweed Bus Transportation has been chosen as the most suitable bus company for band use and is awaiting approval from the district for band’s next event in a few months, Koch said.

“Clearly, the student safety is our most important issue, and we are very thankful that all students are safe,” Koch said. “But we are very concerned about the incident and are taking the following actions to address our concerns.”