The City is unsure how long it will take to determine what caused a fire to spark aboard an OC Transpo double decker Tuesday morning.
Bus route #222, which was traveling from Vars to Ottawa, burst into flames around 6:48 a.m.
Passenger Pierre-Paul Roy explained that he heard what sounded like a tire being blown out and the driver stood up to talk to them.
"It started to smell a bit like rubber, like burnt rubber so it made sense,” Roy said. “[The driver] said, ‘you can stay in your seats until another bus arrives’ and maybe not even 30 seconds later he came back up and said, ‘ok everybody off the bus.’"
Roy said that the passengers got off at both the front and back of the bus but only those who exited through the rear were able to spot the flames at first.
One woman saw the fire and shouted at everyone to get back.
Ottawa Fire crews arrived a short time later and were able to get the blaze under control quickly.
Roy said he feels safe and realizes that this was just a random occurrence.
No one was injured during the ordeal and the approximately 80 passengers all made it onto the next available bus.
Assistant OC Transpo General Manager Troy Charter told reporters Tuesday afternoon the driver had called in to the control centre before this dramatic scene unfolded.
“The operator had a concern that the bus was feeling a little sluggish so he called in to our transit operations control centre,” Charter said. “They said pull the bus over in a safe location and we’ll dispatch someone to the scene. The operator got out of the bus and had asked at the time for the customers to remain on board and then they hear this pop.”
It’s unclear if the pop contributed to the fire.
Charter commended the driver’s actions.
“The operator had pulled the bus over at a safe location because he was sensing something wasn’t necessarily right with the bus and he did the right thing," Charter said. "He was concerned, called the control centre and asked for guidance, and the control centre said 'pull over and we’ll get it checked out.'”
Charter also said that particular bus had been involved in a weather-related crash in 2013, striking a hydro pole on Woodroffe, but it’s also unknown if that had anything to do with Tuesday’s fire.
Double-decker this morning caught fire! #OttNews pic.twitter.com/T3HpVNdAQY
— Pete Roy (@peteroy15) January 17, 2017
#OttNews OcTranspo Bus on fire pic.twitter.com/DTg7cO6h0t
— Pete Roy (@peteroy15) January 17, 2017
The aftermath of the OC Transpo Double Decker bus fire this morning. #ottnews pic.twitter.com/7WHDsPW6CO
— 580 CFRA (@CFRAOttawa) January 17, 2017