In 2017, it was a regular school day for Megan Klindt in Oakland, Iowa. She boarded the school bus as she did every morning for the past two years, when something went terribly wrong. The driver missed the driveway while backing up and got stuck in the ditch causing the bus to lean to its side. The exhaust pipe got blocked by dirt, causing the turbo to overheat which resulted in an engine fire. Megan’s family heard something outside and came to check. The bus filled with smoke. Megan and the driver both suffocated from smoke inhalation as her sister and mom helplessly tried to help to get to them. When they recovered both bodies that found Megan’s leg behind the seated driver’s back indicating she passed-away trying to help him stand. A fire investigation found that this incident, like so many others, originated in the engine compartment. Engine fires are often difficult to suppress without an Automatic Fire Suppression System. In June 2019, The National Transportation Safety Board made several recommendations for school buses, including the recommendation for every school bus to have an Automatic Fire Suppression System installed. Over a year later, The US Department of Transportation, The National Highway Safety Administration, and Bus Manufacturers have yet to implement these recommendations. To the US Department of Transportation: Require in-service school buses to be equipped with fire suppression systems that at a minimum address engine fires. (H-19-3) To the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Require all new school buses to be equipped with fire suppression systems that at a minimum address engine fires. (H-19-4) Develop standards for newly manufactured school buses, especially those with engines that extend beyond the firewall, to ensure that no hazardous quantity of gas or flame can pass through the firewall from the engine compartment to the passenger compartment. (H-19-5) To Blue Bird Corporation, Collins Industries, Inc., IC Bus, Starcraft Bus, Thomas Built Buses, Inc., Trans Tech, and Van-Con, Inc.: As standard equipment on all newly manufactured school buses, install fire suppression systems that at a minimum address engine fires. (H-19-11) Nothing has been done. Therefore, nothing has changed. The ones that have replied to the NTSB are simply passing the buck. The NTSB labeled many of their responses as “unacceptable.” On average, there are 1.2 reported school bus fires a day. Most school buses hold about seventy-seven children. There is no “if” when it comes to school bus fires. We know they happen daily. It is just the matter of where, when, and how. We are putting hundreds of children’s lives at risk every day. We know that most of these fires originate in the engine compartment. The NTSB recommendation to install an AFSS will greatly reduce the likelihood of another child burning to death. A handful of states have begun requiring the AFSS systems on Special Needs buses due to limited mobility of some of the children. Still, most states do not require AFSS on these buses, where the children are strapped in or are in wheelchairs unable to escape. In Missouri, two special needs buses were lost to fire on the same day. The National Fire Protection Association writes the recommended guidelines on what makes a system an “AFSS”. The system should detect, notify, and suppress, without any additional input from the operator. They also must have a manual activation switch in the case of a detection failure or vehicle rollover. The NFPA requires these systems to be inspected every 6 months. You can imagine the cost can begin to add up which could be why some states have yet to respond to the recommendations. Fire suppression companies like FireGator™ have begun to rethink these systems with the regulations and inspections in mind to minimize costs. FireGator™ uses a heat detecting wire on its HALO that is wired directly through to a green LED to monitor power to the system making inspections very simple and less time consuming. The system uses a generator filled with an environmentally friendly suppression agent that is even safe for human inhalation. It can extinguish A (surface), B, and C class fires. When the fire is detected, the horn sounds to notify the driver and passengers. The FireGator™ system notifies the driver of an event as early as possible allowing the driver valuable seconds to start the emergency stop and exit. Some fires begin when the bus is in motion, so the earlier the detection the better. While the bus is in motion it is feeding the engine oxygen, causing the fire to grow bigger while the smoke is being left behind the bus. These fires can grow fast. By the time the bus comes to a stop so that passengers can exit, the bus fills with smoke causing the children to become disoriented and panicked unable to find a nearby exit. Why are we continuing to leave this to chance after being warned? Now is the time to act before we lose an entire bus load of precious lives. #savelives #schoolbussafety