On Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 8:50 A.M. a 911 call was received reporting a bus on fire at 710 Gateway Drive at First Resources. Flames and smoke were reported to be coming from under the hood and there were people still in the bus. The Ottumwa Fire Department responded with all six on duty firefighters and two fire engines. They arrived on scene two minutes after the call to find that the bus had been successfully evacuated and encountered heavy flames and smoke coming from the bus. The fire was quickly extinguished and the damage was contained to the bus.
The Ottumwa Fire Department would like to commend the bus driver Jerry Carder and the First Resources employees Elizabeth Cox & Judy Wilt for their quick actions in removing the passengers from the bus. Some of the passengers were disabled and required assistance. Without their willingness to intervene in this dangerous situation the risk of injury and death would have been eminent.
The bus is valued at $95,000 and is a total loss, the cause of the fire was a mechanical failure in the engine compartment.
