NJ Transit Bus Catches Fire Outside Borough Hall

It's never good news when the bus is on fire.

But, one NJ Transit bus driver whose vehicle caught fire this morning may have been surprised to discover just how lucky he was.

Unoccupied except for its driver, NJ Transit bus #5444 bound for the George Washington Bridge bus terminal was leaving the shelter outside Borough Hall — a stone's throw from the Volunteer Fire Department — when the driver noticed smoke toward the rear of the bus just before 7 a.m. this morning.

He promptly stopped the bus and pressed a button releasing a fire retardant spray into the engine compartment and all over the street and sidewalk beside the vehicle, according to a witness on the scene.

Moments later one firetruck from the Glen Rock Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene, followed shortly thereafter by an official from NJ Transit.

The witness, borough resident John Hahn, said that the Glen Rock Fire Department inspected the vehicle and made sure the fire was fully extinguished before moving on.

The driver was uninjured and didn't require any medical help, and the bus was towed to a NJ Transit facility.

Neither Glen Rock Volunteer Fire Department nor NJ Transit returned calls seeking comment.