WOODS HOLE – From Falmouth Fire Rescue: “Falmouth Fire/Rescue (FFRD) reports that just before noon today, E22, E23 and C28 were dispatched to a bus fire in the Steamship Authority lot on Palmer Avenue. Crews arrived to find a full sized bus heavily involved in fire, with the fire rapidly spreading to several nearby cars. E23 tagged a hydrant and dropped approx 1000′ of supply line, and 2 attack lines were stretched from the first arriving engine. An additional Falmouth engine was requested, and a working fire assignment brought station coverage from the Joint Base Cape Cod, Mashpee and Cotuit Fire Departments. The fire was knocked down in approx 45 mins with no injuries. The bus was totally destroyed, and 14 additional vehicles were damaged. The fire is under investigation by the FFRD, and is not suspicious at this time.”
From the Steamship Authority: “At approximately 11:40 a.m., a Steamship Authority bus caught fire while at the Palmer Avenue parking lot. The bus had been en route from the Palmer Avenue lot to the Thomas B. Landers Road parking lot to pick up passengers when the driver of another Steamship Authority bus alerted the driver that smoke was coming from the back of the vehicle. The driver returned to the Palmer Avenue lot and, shortly thereafter, saw the fire start on the bus.
No passengers were on board, and the driver was able to escape the bus without injury. The bus appears to be a total loss and as many as 15 vehicles exhibited varying degrees of damage. The Steamship Authority is working to make contact with the owners of those vehicles and will assist them as needed.
The bus is approximately two years old and seats 39; the Steamship Authority has 25 other shuttle buses in its fleet to maintain service.
The Steamship Authority extends its gratitude to the Falmouth Fire Department and Falmouth Police Department for their quick response to this incident.”
Photo and video by Falmouth Police/CWN
