Fires destroy two buses in two days

Bus company Ritchies urgently pulled a section of its fleet from the road after two coaches of the same make and model caught fire in separate parts of the country two days apart.

Passengers were able to escape the blazes which began on Dennis Javelin buses near Cheviot on Tuesday and near Taupo the Sunday before.

The police commercial vehicle team has not investigated because no-one was hurt, but the fires were described as "a concern".

Ritchies management said investigations showed the fires were "totally unrelated".

In the Canterbury fire, passengers fled the vehicle after smoke was detected as the bus passed through roadworks near Telegraph Gully, about 20 minutes from Cheviot.

Cheviot Chief Fire Officer Ira McNabb praised the coach driver for getting all passengers off very quickly and not allowing them to return to the bus.

By the time crews arrived the bus was consumed by fire and "quite a bit" of the passengers' luggage was burned, he said.

The driver was able to flag down a coach from another company and transfer 17 passengers who had to get to Christchurch to catch a plane, he said.

Two days before, a 40-seater Ritchies bus caught fire while on a forestry road near Taupo.

Taupo Fire Service station officer Lou McCauley said the bus was engulfed in flame soon after it was evacuated.

The bus was destroyed and passengers did not have time to retrieve their belongings.

It is not known how either fire started, but McNabb said he suspected the Canterbury fire had started in the engine.

Ritchies operations manager Andrew Ritchie said the coincidence of the fires was "totally unbelievable". The Taupo fire appeared to have come from a burst tyre that became hot and caught fire, he said.

Preliminary reports on the Canterbury fire suggested an electrical fault, although this had not yet been confirmed.

The company's 18 remaining Dennis Javelin buses were pulled from service within 24 hours.

Senior Sergeant Warren Newbury, of the police commercial vehicle investigation unit, said the Cheviot fire had not been reported to his section, although a constable had attended.

"Obviously, we've got a bit of a concern if they [buses] start doing this sort of thing."

A closer look would be taken if a "rash" of bus fires started.

Newbury said the location of the fire was the biggest concern.

"A tunnel would be an absolute nightmare because they act like a chimney," he said.

A Ritchies bus caught fire in the Homer Tunnel, Fiordland, in 2002.

- © Fairfax NZ News