What caused the massive traffic jam we saw from the northbound lane of I-91, so thankful we were not headed south! People were camped out all over the highway and the backup went on for miles. We went through about 5.00 just after they had opened one lane of traffic but for a while, there was no southbound traffic, just a very quiet four-lane highway.
From the Hartford Courant (newspaper my paternal grandmother always got for the crossword puzzles)
ROCKY HILL
Southbound I-91 reopened fully about 6:30 p.m, Friday, about two and a half hours after a Peter Pan tour bus caught fire, causing state police and firefighters to close the highway and bring the homebound commute to a halt for people headed to communities south of Hartford.
About 40 people were aboard the bus when it pulled off the highway near exit 24 in Rocky Hill about 3:50 p.m.. The approximately 40 passengers headed from Boston to New York City got off the bus before fire consumed much of it. No injuries were reported and the company sent buses to continue the passengers on their journey.
Firefighters from Rocky Hill and Wethersfield used water and foam to extinguish the blaze. All southbound lanes were closed for about 90 minutes because fire hoses were all over the roadway. Two lanes were opened about 5:30 p.m.
The fire's cause is under investigation. The buses tires and engine compartment were consumed by fire, as was much of the passenger compartment, said Rocky Hill fire department Capt. Henry Vasel.
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I once was on a bus that caught on fire. I was going from Denver up to Winter Park on a 'San Jose Bus Tours' bus. I was the only New Englander with a bunch of Pan-Handle Texan Christians. They could not understand me nor I them. They also were exceedingly polite such that it took them coming to the front of the bus three times saying, 'Mr Bus Driver, the back of the bus is on fire,' before the driver took them seriously and pulled off the highway out in the middle of nowhere. This was 1979 so there were no cell phones and where we were, I doubt there would be a signal anyway. There was a gas station, a small restaurant and a little gift store. Wait we did... three and a half hours for another bus to come get us. The fire was the radiator going.
2 comments:
I have a little prayer that I say when I see an accident. Well - I used to use it a lot when I lived half a mile from a hospital with many ambulances flying by. It goes like this: "Heal the sick, console the grieving and speed the dead to heaven."
I have no recollection of whether or not I made it up (unlikely) or if I heard it. This is something that I have done for years and years.
Thank God no one was hurt in that fire. Or the one that you were in!
Yikes.
Like Fran, I usually pray when I hear a siren or see an accident.... usually a Hail Mary.
this one would have merited three.
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