Fire damages 6 Burlington Area School District school buses, shed
TOWN OF BURLINGTON, Wis. - Six school buses were heavily damaged or destroyed by fire at a lot in Racine County early Tuesday, Feb. 2. As a result, the Burlington Area School District canceled classes for the day.
The fire happened at the Thomas Bus Service lot in the Town of Burlington. A Racine County sheriff's deputy reported smoke and fire coming from a bus shortly before 4 a.m.
School buses damaged by fire in Town of Burlington
It was then discovered that numerous school buses on the property were fully engulfed in fire. Six school buses and a shed were heavily damaged.
It took firefighters roughly two hours to extinguish the flames.
The loss of the buses and structure is estimated at $525,000.
Burlington Area School District school buses caught fire
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android
Officials say the fire appeared to be electrical in nature. No criminal activity is suspected at this time.
The Burlington Area School District issued a statement saying, "Our hearts go out to Thomas Bus Company, the district’s transportation partner for 50 years. Thomas Bus Company provides transportation for up to 2300 students."
School buses damaged by fire in Town of Burlington
The business was closed at the time of the incident -- and no employees were on scene.
The Burlington Area School District and several Catholic schools were forced to cancel classes due to transportation issues. 2,300 kids are bussed daily with Thomas.
Burlington Area School District school buses caught fire
Burlington Area School District update
Meanwhile, in-person learning, in the district’s current hybrid model, will resume on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Students in grades 7-12 in the "Group B" cohort will have in-person school and students in the "Group A" cohort will be virtual (shifting the Tuesday schedule to Wednesday).
As previously communicated, Waller Elementary will continue in the virtual learning model returning Monday, Feb. 8.
Student activities at the high school will set to take place Tuesday night, Feb. 2.
Featured
Fire destroys Town of Dover home; space heater may be to blame
Fire destroyed a home in the Town of Dover in Racine County early Tuesday, Feb. 2.
Featured
Summerfest moves to September, allow more time to vaccinate public
Summerfest will move from its original June 2021 dates to give health professionals more time to vaccinate the general public. Summerfest 2021 will be held September 2 – 4, 9 – 11 and 16 – 18.