FORT WADSWORTH, Staten Island – A group of pre-schoolers and kindergartners from a Bedford-Stuyvesant grammar school had a field trip they likely will never forget after the bus the were riding on caught fire on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Police responded to the Staten Island toll plaza from the Upper Level of the bridge at around 10:30 a.m. Friday morning for a report of a school bus on fire.  The bus was carrying 35 4- and 5-year old students from P.S. 5/Dr. Ronald McNair Elementary), their adult chaperones, and the bus driver.

TBTA Police Lt. Todd Suratt initially spotted the bus on fire and requested assistance from his fellow officers and the FDNY.  As the bus filled with smoke, TBTA officers, along with an off duty NYPD officer, knocked down the bulk of the fire using fire extinguishers.

The students were safely evacuated off of the bus and transported to the bridge’s maintenance facility after being evaluated by FDNY EMS crews.  Bridge management kept the children entertained by teaching them about the history of the bridge while awaiting the arrival of school officials to transport them back to their school.

Afer knocking down the fire, TBTA maintenance crews and the FDNY secured the vehicle and examined the passengers.  Neither the bus driver, the chaperones, nor any students required any further medical treatment.

The Upper Level of the bridge was closed during the incident; normal traffic resumed at around 11:30 a.m. after a staggered lane reopening.  There were no reported traffic impacts on the Lower Level.

CROWN HEIGHTS – The firefighter’s union alleges that a delay by dispatchers was partially responsible for the death of a man and his two children following an apartment fire yesterday.

The FDNY was dispatched to a house fire at 12:27 p.m., however, the FDNY claims that two separate 9-1-1 calls by civilians made it difficult for dispatchers to send crews to the correct location, according to the New York Post.

The initial dispatch had firefighters dispatched to Rogers Avenue, one block away from the actual fire scene at 654 St. Marks Avenue.  Crews from Engine 280/Ladder 132 responded to the Rogers Avenue location, however a civilian on scene directed them to the St. Marks location.

Two different FDNY press hacks told the Post that dispatchers were given incomplete information from 9-1-1 callers.

The Deputy Chief in command of the scene told the Post that it took eight minutes for firefighters to respond to the correct location due to incomplete information.  However, Jim Long of the FDNY press office reported that trucks were at the correct address in six minutes.

Another flack for the FDNY elaborated on the incomplete information claims:

“They were dispatched based on information from two 911 callers — both via cellphones — reporting a fire in the vicinity of Rogers Avenue and Prospect Avenue,” said … FDNY spokesman, Frank Gribbon. “[They] learned upon their arrival at the callers’ location that the fire was around the corner. The units immediately proceeded to that location.”

However, it proved to be too late for Myrtel Jean, 42, and his two toddler sons, Fabrice, 2, and Sebastian, 1.  All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

This is the second fatal house fire that the Uniformed Firefighters Association claimed that was caused by a dispatching error.  Crews in Woodside, Queens, were dispatched to the wrong address for a working fire on November 7 in which three men died.

BROWNSVILLE - Fire fighters make quick work of a working fire of a vacant structure earlier this afternoon.

At around 12:38 p.m., the FDNY was dispatched to 1674 East New York Avenue for a report of a fire in a two story vacant residence on box #77-75-3930.  Upon arrival, crews conducted a search of the property, which showed no residents at the location.  The fire was quickly knocked down and placed under control.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation…

BUSHWICK - A man is in custody this evening after allegedly stabbing another person earlier this evening.

Officers from the 83rd Precinct responded to the area of Cooper Street between Broadway and Bushwick Avenue at around 5:30 pm this evening for a report of a stabbing.  Witnesses reported that a black male wearing a beige jacket had stabbed his victim an unknown number of times.  The suspect fled on foot, however was apprehended a short time later near the scene.

The condition of the victim is not known at this time.  The suspect is expected to be charged with assault and related offenses pending the investigation.

NYPD Aviation was requested to the scene, however, the perp was apprehended before the helicopter arrived in the area…

GRAVESEND - The NYPD has scheduled a public forum Thursday evening regarding a street closing near a NYCTA subway yard.

The forum is in regards to a street closing in the area of the Coney Island Yard on West 13th Street near Shore Parkway.  The street closing is being requested for what is desecribed as security reasons.

The forum will be held at the NYPD Police Service Area #1 station house, located at 2860 West 23rd Street, Coney Island (between Neptune Avenue and Mermaid Avenue) on Thursday between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.  The station house is accessible via the B74/Mermaid Avenue bus which can be caught at the Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue subway station from the (D), (F), (N), and (Q) or B64/86th Street-Bath Avenue bus.