Thursday, October 3rd, as our 8th grade students were returning from Kansas City from a field
trip, one of our buses had an inside dual tire blow out just south of Louisburg, KS on US 69
Highway. After consulting with district staff, the decision was made to continue to drive the bus
toward home at a reduced speed.
As the bus approached the exit at Prescott, KS, the driver of a school van that was following the
bus noticed smoke coming from the tire. The driver of the van drove up to the bus and signaled
for them pull over.
The students on the bus were evacuated with the assistance of the teachers. After evacuating the
bus, students hurried down the highway ramp and headed to the convenience store located at the
Prescott, KS exit.
After the students had cleared, the driver attempted to put the fire that had developed around the
tire area out using the fire extinguisher on the bus. This proved to be unsuccessful. The fire
began spread to the inside of the bus and eventually engulfed the entire bus. The students were
near the convenience store when the fire began to spread inside the bus. The bus was a total loss.
Students entered the convenience store and were provide drinks by the store clerk. The Linn
County Fire Department, the Kansas Highway Patrol, and Linn County EMS responded to the
scene and one student was treated and released at the scene for minor smoke inhalation.
Another bus from Fort Scott arrived at the convenience store around 3:45 p.m. and loaded the 32
students and staff for the return trip home. All students arrived at Fort Scott Middle School and
were picked up by their parents and went home by 5:00 p.m.
The district will begin an internal investigation of the incident this week and will determine
what policies and procedures need to be in place in the future, so another incident of this type
does not happen again. A full report of the investigation will be provided to the board of
education at the conclusion of the investigation.
We are proud of our students and staff who responded calmly and quickly during this event. We
are thankful that our students and staff were returned home safely. The safety of our students is
our top priority, and the district is committed to doing whatever is necessary to ensure our
students are safe while attending school as well as events that occur outside of school.