UPDATE: Huge bus blaze at Handy Cross (From Bucks Free Press)
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UPDATE: Huge bus blaze at Handy Cross
9:10pm Saturday 5th June 2010 in News By Simon Farr
A HUGE bus fire on the Handy Cross roundabout forced the closure of the A404 on Saturday.
An out-of-service Arriva bus was heading back to High Wycombe from Henley when it caught fire at around 8.10pm, spitting flames more than 20ft into the air.
The vehicle was not carrying passengers at the time and the bus driver escaped unharmed.
Firefighters spent more than 90 minutes tackling the blaze, which closed the northbound carriageway of the A404 between Marlow and Handy Cross.
Police re-opened most of the carriageway at 9.45pm but the lane in which the bus caught fire remains closed.
The Highways Agency and Transport for Buckinghamshire are currently at the scene carrying out repairs to the lane which was badly damaged in the fire.
Watch manager Andy Ward from High Wycombe fire station said: “It looks like an electrical fault caused the fire.
“The bus driver smelt the smoke, he pulled over on the roundabout, switched off the vehicle, looked at the engine and it was well alight. He was fine, he took it all in his stride.”
Marlow Bottom resident Mark Chapman was driving home up Marlow Hill when he saw the billowing smoke at around 8.30pm. He sent in these dramatic photos.
He said: “It was pretty spectacular. We were driving home from the High Wycombe direction and as we came up Marlow Hill we saw the smoke but not the fire.
“As we drove up to the roundabout we then saw the bus, with flames shooting up about 20ft or more into the air.
“The firefighters and police had just got onto the scene and were closing the roads off.
“We stopped the car and I spoke briefly to the driver, he said to me that he thought the bus was overheating.
"He said he stopped the bus to have a look and the next minute it was up in flames."
“The bus didn't have any passengers on it, just the driver and he was fine. I don't think he could quite believe it.”
Comments(21)
chris740
says...
10:44pm Sat 5 Jun 10
phoenix1304
says...
12:33am Sun 6 Jun 10
chris740 wrote:"more safer"?? Good job there!!
the roads will be more safer if all the buses went up this way
I saw the bus just after they'd put it out. Looked like the back end had exploded. There was nothing left!!
erm
says...
12:50am Sun 6 Jun 10
miccles
says...
11:50am Sun 6 Jun 10
No thankyou very much, i will stick to my car.
The state of some of these buses i'm surprised it doesn't happen more often, and its not the first time its happened with Arriva buses, and i'm sure its not the last.
Are these buses properly maintained and Mot'd????? i wonder.
Why do we never hear of problems like this with Carousel???? how often have they had problems with their buses?????
The Highways Agency and Transport for Buckinghamshire were at the scene repairing the road,
so they can work when they want to then, mind you sat night, double pay i expect.
wayneo
says...
5:00pm Sun 6 Jun 10
wayneo
says...
5:01pm Sun 6 Jun 10
iworld
says...
10:28pm Sun 6 Jun 10
I agree - the site of Arriva buses is becoming far too common now - it is about time they updated their entire fleet of buses or purchase new engines for the older ones.
Wycombe needs more contemporary buses - which do not through so much out soot.
The Buses in LA run on Hydrogen and the only thing coming out is water
As usual the situation with Arriva will be money related
Old Rebel
says...
10:36pm Sun 6 Jun 10
Miltonian
says...
10:07am Mon 7 Jun 10
Arriva is being taken over by Deutsche Bahn, who also own Chiltern Railways. Maybe that will have an effect on their fleet. They do have some nice Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses on the 300 route by the way.
sparky49
says...
12:41pm Mon 7 Jun 10
miccles wrote:Miccles do your research before you comment. PCV, HGV AND TAXIS are exempt from the MOT. they are plated instead which by the way is far more stringent than your MOT.
and we are encouraged to use public transport????
No thankyou very much, i will stick to my car.
The state of some of these buses i'm surprised it doesn't happen more often, and its not the first time its happened with Arriva buses, and i'm sure its not the last.
Are these buses properly maintained and Mot'd????? i wonder.
Why do we never hear of problems like this with Carousel???? how often have they had problems with their buses?????
The Highways Agency and Transport for Buckinghamshire were at the scene repairing the road,
so they can work when they want to then, mind you sat night, double pay i expect.
miccles
says...
1:09pm Mon 7 Jun 10
sparky49 wrote:Well excuse me, and you are?????????????????
miccles wrote:Miccles do your research before you comment. PCV, HGV AND TAXIS are exempt from the MOT. they are plated instead which by the way is far more stringent than your MOT.
and we are encouraged to use public transport????
No thankyou very much, i will stick to my car.
The state of some of these buses i'm surprised it doesn't happen more often, and its not the first time its happened with Arriva buses, and i'm sure its not the last.
Are these buses properly maintained and Mot'd????? i wonder.
Why do we never hear of problems like this with Carousel???? how often have they had problems with their buses?????
The Highways Agency and Transport for Buckinghamshire were at the scene repairing the road,
so they can work when they want to then, mind you sat night, double pay i expect.
???????????????
usvelt
says...
1:15pm Mon 7 Jun 10
miccles
says...
1:23pm Mon 7 Jun 10
usvelt wrote:This is not the first time a bus has caught fire, and it won't be the last. I don't care what certain people say, i'm sure half these buses are not roadworthy and maintained properly.
I love the "well if this is what happens to busses I am sticking with my car remarks" So does this mean if you ever see a car on fire you will abandon that form of transport completely? Of course not just the usual excuses helping to create more traffic jams!!
If they were maintained properly and regularly they stand a less chance of catching fire.
How many Carousel buses have caught fire in relation to Arriva?????? zero.
usvelt
says...
2:01pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Lets be honest people look for excuses not to have to go on public transport.
IslandBlog
says...
2:53pm Mon 7 Jun 10
For a fleet of 60+ buses, this has to be exceptional. My own experience of running buses (of a similar age profile) in the Midlands was, as far as I can recall, just one fire in 10 years - and that was started deliberately by passengers setting light to the seats upstairs.
All buses are subject to an annual test that is far more stringent than a standard MOT test, and VOSA (the government agency responsible for managing PSV & HGV safety) has the powers to order a whole fleet inspection at any time if they suspect that maintenance is not up to standard.
miccles
says...
3:39pm Mon 7 Jun 10
usvelt wrote:excuse me, i have no objections to travelling on public transport, there are times when i'd rather do it that way, i drive every day, and consider it a change to be driven.
And how many cars have caught fire compared to busses?
Lets be honest people look for excuses not to have to go on public transport.
You must admit the state of some of those buses are very questionable? or do you have an interest in Arriva???????????
Arriva is yet another big company, like alot of others, it couldn't give a toss about the general public, as long as they make their money thats all that matters to them.
in my eyes, the bigger the company, the less standard of service you get.
blueh
says...
4:52pm Mon 7 Jun 10
usvelt
says...
2:06pm Tue 8 Jun 10
I see a plane caught fire
http://news.bbc.co.u
k/1/hi/england/leeds
/10260026.stm
Following the logic here does this mean a lot less air travellers?
Az-R
says...
8:33pm Tue 8 Jun 10
Either way, not good advertising for public transport, especially if I needed to be somwhere on time.
Ewartwhatyoubulldoze
says...
9:20pm Wed 9 Jun 10
"S/he's so hot, s/he looks like the back end of a bus."
Or am I being just being busist?
ivor says...
9:35pm Sat 5 Jun 10
~
If a bus burns so quickly and ferociously I will play it safe and stick to using my trusty car....
~
Have you read Ivor’s blog today? Click on the “BLOGS” link at the top of the page.