A fire destroyed School District 55’s service truck the evening of Oct. 15 and possibly damaged equipment stored in a shop area.
A bus driver arriving at the bus barn at 7 p.m. noted nothing unusual that night, but a driver coming into at 7:45 p.m. noticed smoke coming from the shop.
Firefighters responded to find a service truck on fire inside the compound’s shop, Transportation Supervisor L.D. Ellison said. The truck was used to respond to buses that break down while on routes.
Temperatures apparently climbed as high as 1,500 degrees inside the shop, melting camera equipment used on buses, the plastic on fire extinguishers and hoses used to deliver fluids to vehicles.
Nearby, inside the garage, the district had just finished painting a pickup donated to the district. It was covered in soot along with the tools and walls. The truck needed to be cleaned before district officials could determine whether the new paint job was damaged.
Ellison was still assessing damage last week and had no estimate on the cost. The truck itself was worth $16,000 to $19,000.
The fire was apparently caused by a short circuit in the engine compartment where the fire started, Ellison said. It started on the left side of the compartment where the melted battery was located.
The truck was put into the shop bay at about 6:15 p.m.
It was purchased by the district from the Forest Service.