All passengers safe after Salt Lake Express bus caught fire

ONEIDA COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) - A Salt Lake Express Bus caught on fire just south of Malad on Interstate 15 Sunday night.

Fire fighters with the Malad Fire Department tell us a tire blew out while driving along I-15 which lead the bus to catch on fire.

They say everyone was able to escape safely. No injuries have been reported.

A school bus from the Oneida School District was able to pick up the passengers and deliver them to the Maverick gas station in Malad.

They say another Salt Lake Express bus was set to pick them up and take them to their final destinations.

We caught up with passengers at that gas station. Justin Harvey says, "As I was boarding I noticed the driver was kind of fixated on the back right tire and as we followed his gaze we realized the tire was not in great shape, like under inflated."

Emily Wood says, "My main concern was 'Is everyone out?' Because there was a lot of people in there that could have been impacted. I know a lot of people lost their stuff and yeah. Everyone was climbing on top of the hill and I was wondering 'Where is the fire extinguisher? Is he gonna put it out?' And no one did so we started backing up."

Steven says, "I grabbed the fire extinguisher and the whole thing could have been prevented as far as the fire goes, if the fire extinguisher would not have been empty... The entire bus went up, a $300,000 bus for a $25 fire extinguisher."

Fire fighters were able to contain the fire to the bus, despite the dry grass along the side of the road.

No other damage besides the bus and a few passengers' personal belongings has been reported.

The accident since been cleaned up. The roadway is now clear and open.