A coach bus carrying 15 reservists just back from a tour of duty in Latvia, caught fire on Highway 401 westbound last night.
Brighton Fire Chief Gene Thompson says when his team was enroute, they learned all of the passengers and the driver escaped uninjured.
Thompson says the Westbound 401 was closed for several hours.
Smoke from the fire was causing poor visibility for eastbound drivers.
Thompson says the good news story also extended in another way to the military personnel themselves.
Thompson talks about the working theory on the cause of the fire.
An attempt was made to extinguish the fire before it spread – but that wasn’t successful.
Chief Thompson says co-operation with a neighbouring fire service and the OPP made the job easier for Brighton firefighters.
Chief Thompson tips his hat to the OPP. Between the quick action by one of their officers and helping the Brighton fire crew get to and from the water truck refill point, Thompson says it was a textbook case of first responders working shoulder to shoulder to protect public safety and property.
(Written by: John Brenner)
(Photo credit: Brighton Fire Department)
