If your child is one of the 26 million students that ride the school bus every day, you’ll be glad to know that traveling by school bus is the safest method of motorized transportation on the American road. According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Association), children are actually seven times safer riding on a school bus than they are in your family car. And while school buses are safe to ride in, accidents and fires do occur.
School Bus Fires
According to a 2016 study by John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, an average of 379 school bus fires happen annually, that’s 1-2 fires every day. Scary fact for us parents. Deaths and injuries are rare on yellow school buses, but the worst-case scenario is unthinkable.
Causes Of School Bus Fires
The majority of school bus fires occur due to mechanical or electrical failures, but in some cases, an arsonist is to blame. Making it imperative that transporters take every precaution possible mitigate the risk by staying vigilant, maintaining bus equipment, and continuously updating school bus safety procedures and training.
Fire Safety Systems
Fire suppression systems on school buses are not currently mandated across the nation, however many states require fire-blocking upholstery and comprehensive inspections to equipment and other potential sources of ignition that are most likely to cause a fire.
The best way to handle school bus fires is to extinguish them immediately, and the quickest way to do that is with a fire suppression system. When the temp reaches a certain degree, the fire suppression system releases a mist or powder that extinguishes the fire, providing additional time for the driver and students to evacuate. In many systems, it will alert the bus driver that there’s a fire, even though in some cases the fire is put out before the driver is even aware that there’s a fire.
MIJA’s 2N1 Fire Suppression System Switches
MIJA’s 2N1 Pressure Gauge and Pressure Switch in one can be commonly found on fire suppression systems for school buses, motor coaches, transit buses, and many applications where lives or valuable materials need to be protected.
Fast Facts
- 480,000 school buses currently on the road in the U.S.
- 2,210 School Bus Fires Between 1999-2003, costing 24.2 million in damages
- Average of 379 school bus fires annually
- Average cost of a new school bus is $100,000
- Average cost of a fire suppression system for a school bus is $2,500- $3,000/ bus.
- Nearly 70% of bus fires are sparked by mechanical or electrical failures
- Fire Suppression Systems on buses can allow additional time to evacuate.
- Most popular fire suppression agents in the U.S. is ABC dry chemical