Smoke on the Shoulder with Two Wheelchair Users
At 8:05 a.m. on a clear, 34°F morning, you are driving a 47-passenger bus with 31 students and two paraprofessionals on I-295. A burning smell and light gray smoke come from the dashboard/engine area. You pull onto the right shoulder, stop about 8 feet from the travel lane, set the parking brake, and shut down the engine. Smoke begins to enter the driver area. Two students use manual wheelchairs and are secured in the mid-bus area with tie-downs. One student in the rear has autism and is screaming; another is refusing to leave her seat. Traffic is passing at 60-65 mph about 8 feet away. You are 0.3 mile from an exit. The bus has a rear emergency door, side windows, a fire extinguisher, and a first-aid kit.
1. Do you evacuate or keep students on board? Give the decision and sequence.
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Evacuate. Smoke from the dashboard/engine area can become a fire, and the bus is only 8 feet from 60-65 mph traffic. Call 911 and dispatch first if you can do so without delay, then direct students away from the bus and traffic to a assembly point at least 100 feet upwind and behind the guardrail. Use the rear emergency door for ambulatory students if the front is smoky; send the paraprofessionals to guide them. For the two wheelchair users, move them quickly through the front door or lift only if smoke does not block it; if it does, move them as far from the smoke as possible inside the bus and keep staff with them while firefighters assist. Never leave a wheelchair user alone. Account for all 31 students at the assembly point.
2. How do you manage the student with autism and the student who refuses to leave her seat?
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Use short, calm, concrete directions: 'Stand up. Walk with me to the back door now.' Assign one adult to the student with autism and one to the refusing student so the evacuation of others continues. Do not argue or bargain; if there is immediate fire danger, two adults may need to assist the refusing student out of the seat and away from the bus. Keep physical contact purposeful and brief. At the assembly point, use the roster and repeat the count until all 31 are accounted for; a student who is screaming may still follow a familiar adult, so keep that adult visible.
3. What do you take from the bus, and what do you report?
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Take the roster, first-aid kit, and a phone if you can do so without delaying evacuation; take the fire extinguisher only if the fire is small and you have a clear exit. Do not go back into the bus for belongings. Report to 911 and dispatch: exact location, direction of travel, number of students, injuries, wheelchair users, smoke/fire status, and whether everyone is accounted for. Keep students upwind and behind a barrier. Do not reboard until the fire department clears the bus.