Bus blaze never did trigger fire alarm.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

When fire broke out in the engine compartment on the back end of a Lane Transit District bus last week, the driver should have been the first to know about it.

But an alarm system that's supposed to alert the driver never went off, LTD spokesman Andy Vobora said Monday.

"That's one of the things (investigators) are going to be looking at: whether the initial fire took out the alarm," Vobora said.

Fire or even overheating in the engine compartment is supposed to trigger a warning light on the dashboard and an auditory alarm, Vobora said. The warning is critical because it would be difficult for the driver or passengers to detect smoke, especially when the 60-foot, rear-engine bus travels at freeway speeds, he said.

And last Tuesday, passing motorists were the ones who alerted the bus driver and passengers about the fire as the bus traveled south on Interstate 5 about 6 p.m. near the Highway 58 exit. No one was injured.

The bus is one of five articulated buses that LTD bought in February from New Flyer of America, which bills itself as the largest transit bus manufacturer in North America.

Paul Smith, New Flyer's vice president of sales and marketing, said he wasn't aware of the alarm problem. Nor did he know if the alarm has been an issue with other New Flyer buses.

LTD immediately took the articulated buses out of service and will keep them out of service until the cause of the fire is determined. If investigators identify a problem with the alarm system, that will be corrected before the other buses are put back on the road, Vobora said.

Investigators from New Flyer, as well as from LTD's insurance company, began looking into the fire Monday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also is interested in the Eugene fire as part of its investigation into a series of fires on public transit buses - all powered by Series 40 and Series 50 turbocharged diesel engines manufactured by Detroit Diesel. The Eugene bus was powered by a Detroit Diesel Series 50 engine.

NHTSA launched a preliminary investigation into the engine fires last month after receiving reports of 19 bus fires in 11 different public transit fleets. Investigators are looking specifically at whether the turbocharger is the culprit.