Bus catches fire in Twickenham 18 May 2024

[MotCO]

The Telegraph is reporting that a bus on TL route 490 has caught fire in Twickenham, reducing the bus to a shell.

There are no details of injuries - I hope everyone is safe.

London Vehicle Finder https://lvf.io/#LDN|490 shows 8837 (YY64YJU) as going out of service at 13.20, so it may be that one. If so, it is an ADL E200 operated by Transport UK, a non-hybrid diesel bus.

Bus reduced to burnt-out shell after catching fire in London

Photos online show back of single-deck 490 bus going up in flames in Twickenham

www.telegraph.co.uk

A Transport for London bus has been reduced to a burnt-out shell after catching fire in south-west London on Saturday.
Photos online showed the back of a single-deck 490 bus in flames in Twickenham, with smoke rising high above the street.
London Fire Brigade officers were at the scene of the fire, which happened on Saturday afternoon.





One onlooker posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Hopefully everyone got off ok and safe.”
Photos of the aftermath showed the shell of the bus covered in ash, with smoke pouring from the back. The cause of the fire is not yet know.
This is a breaking story – more to follow

 

[Trainman40083]

The Telegraph is reporting that a bus on TL route 490 has caught fire in Twickenham, reducing the bus to a shell.

There are no details of injuries - I hope everyone is safe.

London Vehicle Finder https://lvf.io/#LDN|490 shows 8837 (YY64YJU) as going out of service at 13.20, so it may be that one. If so, it is an ADL E200 operated by Transport UK, a non-hybrid diesel bus.

Bus reduced to burnt-out shell after catching fire in London

Photos online show back of single-deck 490 bus going up in flames in Twickenham

www.telegraph.co.uk

And that bus has already gone from Bustimes due to fire .

 

[DunsBus]

And that bus has already gone from Bustimes due to fire .

How long until the lesser-educated put the cause of the fire down to it being "an electric bus," despite that one being a diesel. The same theories were put forward by the armchair brigade last week within seconds of that Stagecoach South Trident going up in flames in Bordon.

 

[Thames99]

Dramatic bus fires obviously get a lot of publicity, but what is the data on their frequency compared to car or lorry fires for instance? Some completely destroy buses even when I assume the fire brigade has arrived within minutes. Are buses fitted with any sort of fire detection and suppression equipment?

 

[Eyersey468]

Dramatic bus fires obviously get a lot of publicity, but what is the data on their frequency compared to car or lorry fires for instance? Some completely destroy buses even when I assume the fire brigade has arrived within minutes. Are buses fitted with any sort of fire detection and suppression equipment?

The only thing our buses have is a fire extinguisher though in reality it is unlikely to get used

 

[Trainman40083]

The only thing our buses have is a fire extinguisher though in reality it is unlikely to get used

Indeed. The most important thing is that everyone gets off safely. Buses can be replaced.

 

[158756]

Dramatic bus fires obviously get a lot of publicity, but what is the data on their frequency compared to car or lorry fires for instance? Some completely destroy buses even when I assume the fire brigade has arrived within minutes. Are buses fitted with any sort of fire detection and suppression equipment?

There was a DVSA investigation last year into the apparently rising number of bus fires https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...-bus-fires-reported-to-dvsa-from-2020-to-2022

which found

Based on the study of reports sent to DVSA and the evidence found in the engine bay temperature assessment study, DVSA has found that:

there is evidence that repairs have not been carried out correctly, which have led to vehicle fires
drivers have continued driving vehicles when warning systems have advised of high temperatures
there is no evidence that the engine bay temperatures are excessive or exceed manufacturer’s limits when a bus is running correctly

The RMT are concerned about the risk to workers and passengers, and are apparently trying to organise a conference on the issue https://www.rmt.org.uk/about/health...st-for-support-organising090424/?preview=true

They claim

In the vast majority of cases, the driver has not received guidance or training on how to evacuate their vehicle. Bizarrely the materials used in the vehicles (which are not permitted on planes or trains) offer no resistance to fire and are toxic when alight.

And from https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-responds-to-dvsa-report-on-bus-fires/

"Academic research shows that buses may be significantly riskier than cars, trains, ships or aircraft, mainly due to the less-stringent fire-safety requirements governing them, and concern that the probability of bus fires is 2 to 3 times higher than cars.

So it seems like this is becoming a serious issue for the bus industry.

 

[computerSaysNo]

So it seems like this is becoming a serious issue for the bus industry.

It also sounds like it's a problem mostly of the industry's own making:

there is evidence that repairs have not been carried out correctly, which have led to vehicle fires
drivers have continued driving vehicles when warning systems have advised of high temperatures

 

[Geordie driver]

It also sounds like it's a problem mostly of the industry's own making:

Indeed.

It's an industry that needs to be told not to reroute fuel lines and remove heat shields.

Every corner cut.

Drivers often don't report faults because they know the report will be ignored and if they push it, they will be labelled a trouble maker.

I used to be maintenance rep for the union at my old place of work, the strokes a major operator and apparently respectable company would try and pull are unbelievable.

 

[DunsBus]

It also sounds like it's a problem mostly of the industry's own making:

Add to that engine bay wiring not being replaced when it should be, which is every few years. I very much suspect that the fire involving the Stagecoach South Trident last week may have been down to goosed wiring in the engine bay; at 18 years old it might still have been on the original wiring.

 

[Loddeka]

So it seems like this is becoming a serious issue for the bus industry.

In my company in Leeds, the vehicle fires in the last couple of years have been vandalism, not bus faults.

 

[thomalex]

In my company in Leeds, the vehicle fires in the last couple of years have been vandalism, not bus faults.

Presumably buses have smoke detectors on them so any fires started can be put out before they spread.

 

[Goldfish62]

Dramatic bus fires obviously get a lot of publicity, but what is the data on their frequency compared to car or lorry fires for instance? Some completely destroy buses even when I assume the fire brigade has arrived within minutes. Are buses fitted with any sort of fire detection and suppression equipment?

TfL-spec buses are all fitted with fire suppression equipment and an audible indication is given when the ignition is activated. Obviously I have no idea whether in this particular case it played any role in delaying the speed at which at which the fire got a grip.

I've heard anecdotally of the equipment sometimes being disconnected when buses leave London "because it's just another thing to go wrong".

 

[Busaholic]

I've heard anecdotally of the equipment sometimes being disconnected when buses leave London "because it's just another thing to go wrong".

Or, possibly, in some cases because of the inverse snob 'we don't need their smarty-pants ways' ?!

 

[Tetchytyke]

It also sounds like it's a problem mostly of the industry's own making

Indeed.

I’m not going to name and shame, but I was on an Enviro200 this week on the back seat. The heat from the engine seeped through to the passenger cabin to such an extent that the metal bits on the internal passenger-facing panelling around the engine were too hot to touch.

 

[Goldfish62]

Or, possibly, in some cases because of the inverse snob 'we don't need their smarty-pants ways' ?!

Quite likely!

 

[Geordie driver]

Indeed.

I’m not going to name and shame, but I was on an Enviro200 this week on the back seat. The heat from the engine seeped through to the passenger cabin to such an extent that the metal bits on the internal passenger-facing panelling around the engine were too hot to touch.

Either the engine overheating or insulation stripped out, possibly a combination of the 2.

Who would drive a car like that? Yet it's ok for bus passengers.

Customer focused industry mind.

 

[computerSaysNo]

Either the engine overheating or insulation stripped out, possibly a combination of the 2.

Who would drive a car like that? Yet it's ok for bus passengers.

The above in relation to the below:

Drivers often don't report faults because they know the report will be ignored and if they push it, they will be labelled a trouble maker.

I don't disagree that it's partly the fault of the bus company, but if drivers are aware of vehicle faults and don't report them until they are fixed then in my opinion they are also to blame? Especially faults which could impact on safety (engine overheating - increased risk of fire; insulation removed - risk of passenger burning themselves on unexpected hot interior surfaces).

 

[Goldfish62]

I can think of two instances where design faults caused fires. One was the infamous London Citaro fires, and the other was early model Tridents, of which a huge number combusted over a short period of time, yet never received anywhere near the same level of adverse publicity as the Citaros (pretty much equivalent to EVs and diesels these days).

Recent fires don't seem model-specific - they seem to affect any bus type.

 

[Geordie driver]

The above in relation to the below:

I don't disagree that it's partly the fault of the bus company, but if drivers are aware of vehicle faults and don't report them until they are fixed then in my opinion they are also to blame? Especially faults which could impact on safety (engine overheating - increased risk of fire; insulation removed - risk of passenger burning themselves on unexpected hot interior surfaces).

A hot part of the bus wouldn't show up at the start of the day when first user checks are carried out. The engine is cold and you don't constantly check the bus throughout the day.

It's the people responsible for maintaining the bus who have removed the insulation in the first place. They don't see this as a fault.

It's wearing and pointless to constantly report faults knowing the company doesn't care and will do nothing about it.

These companies, big operators, apparently legit, have to be told not to reroute fuel lines and remove heat shields for convenience.

 

[Busaholic]

I can think of two instances where design faults caused fires. One was the infamous London Citaro fires, and the other was early model Tridents, of which a huge number combusted over a short period of time, yet never received anywhere near the same level of adverse publicity as the Citaros (pretty much equivalent to EVs and diesels these days).

Could be because Tridents weren't articulated buses, and they also tended to choose Outer London boroughs to combust in rather than the more prominent Park Lane or bottom of Edgware Road, the latter happening to be the only bus fire I've ever come across. The Evening Standard paper was determined to get rid of the 'bendy bus', a bandwagon soon to be jumped on by a certain B. Johnson.