The
bus, understood to be a 33 service, was passing through
Cowdenbeath when it caught fire at around 3.30pm. Footage posted on social media by Fife Jammer Locations showed the incident on Moss Side Road, reports the
Daily Record.
No injuries have been reported as of yet. Locals have speculated that the diesel engine on board the bus had 'run away'.
This is a rare occurrence in diesel engines in which extra fuel is unwittingly fed into the engine while it is running, causing it to run above its normal operating limit.
One commenter said: "The engine is taking oil in through turbo inlet.. the engine won't switch off. Instead of running on diesel its running in engine oil, as the turbo spins faster the oil is sucked into engine faster.
"This is why it's called runaway, because the revs are running away. These buses are automatic so no way to stall it."
A local resident said the bus stopped outside her house, adding that the driver had been unable to turn off the engine, backing up the theory that the engine was out of control. Another added: "Will say the fire engine were there within 5 mins of us phoning them, everyone got off the bus safe but was very scary."