Back of Metro bus catches fire; no injuries reported

The back of a Metro bus burst into flames Monday morning in downtown Los Angeles, but no one was hurt and firefighters were able to knock down the blaze in a matter of minutes.

Authorities said they were notified of a bus fire in the 100 block of South Broadway at 9:23 a.m. The site is just outside the Los Angeles Times’ main building.

“Fire was showing from the engine compartment,” said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Humphrey said no one was trapped on the bus or hurt in the incident and that the vehicles had been evacuated by the time firefighters arrived.

Officials with the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority said about 45 people were on board the Line 30 bus, which runs from Boyle Heights through downtown to West Hollywood.

The fire grew until it engulfed the back end of the orange Metro bus, but it only took a couple of firefighters a couple minutes to put the flames out. Humphrey said such bus fires are not unusual and that there are “a fair number of bus fires each year.”

In another incident Monday, about 15 students were evacuated about 9 a.m. from a “smoking” bus on the northbound 405 Freeway south of Skirball Center Drive, authorities said. The bus was described as a school bus by the LAFD.

Firefighters responded to the scene but found no active flames and Humphrey said no one was hurt.

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-- Ari Bloomekatz

Map: Approximate location of incident shown in black. Credit: Los Angeles Times Mapping L.A.