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.