Passengers flee burning Macon Transit Authority bus on Anthony Terrace
Chris Ingram and Tai Balkcom were sleeping soundly Monday morning when they heard a loud noise outside their house.
A Macon Transit Authority bus caught fire in the 2300 block of Anthony Terrace at about 6:30 a.m.
"We heard a loud 'boom' noise at first, like thunder and lightning had struck," Ingram said. "Then we jumped up and we heard and then we'd seen all the passengers getting off the bus."
"We instantly, you know what I'm saying, tried to find the phone to contact the police, let them know what's going on," said Balkcom, who caught some of the flames on his cellphone.
The men said it started as a small fire near the rear wheel on the passenger loading side, but quickly spread.
Everyone got off the bus in an orderly fashion, they said.
The bus driver tried to put the flames out, but the flames were no match for his fire extinguisher.
A second Macon Transit Authority bus picked up the passengers and continued the route.
A transit authority worker on the scene declined to comment on the incident.
A Macon-Bibb County firefighter said three people were on the bus, but no one was hurt.
The back end of the bus burned and there was heavy smoke damage all through the vehicle.
"It started in the engine compartment," said Sgt. Ben Gleaton and investigator for the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department. "It's going to be a total loss."
Ingram praised the efforts of firefighters who kept the flames from spreading to his family's car, which was parked in the driveway, about 10 feet away from the street and burning bus.
"They did do a very good job coming putting the fire out because it was serious, it kept spreading and it kept spreading," Ingram said. "We were kind of scared but we were in awe at the same time."
To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and follow her on Twitter@liz_lines.
This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 2:03 PM with the headline "Passengers flee burning Macon Transit Authority bus on Anthony Terrace ."