Bus drivers schooled in safety

Hubbard firefighters give training to help ensure smooth academic year

HUBBARD -- Just as students and teachers prepare for the new school year, so are the Hubbard Exempted Village School District's bus drivers, aides and mechanics.

Members of the Hubbard Fire Department helped with hands-on training exercises with realistic bus-emergency simulations Tuesday morning in the Hubbard High School parking lot. The school district has 14 bus routes with 16 drivers, three aides and two mechanics.

This was the first year that Hubbard hosted this type of training. Previously, transportation staff attended similar events, which included a bus burning to demonstrate how it can be engulfed in flames in three to five minutes.

Hubbard Eagle Joint Fire District Chief Ron Stanish was pleased to help out.

"I was all for it. You can never do enough training. This reinforces a possible situation they could run into, not that it gets them used to being in that environment, but they'll know what it's like in case it ever happens to them," he said. "Hopefully, they get something out of it, and our kids will be safe in the future."

Using a spare bus, firefighters simulated a smoke-filled bus evacuation by using a smoke machine to create low-visibility conditions. The object of the exercise was to enter the vehicle, move about while positioned as low as possible and search for a "child" that remained on board. For Tuesday's training, a helmet was placed on one of the seats.

All participants made their way into the bus, moved toward the back and then made their way out the front to, once again, inhale fresh air.

"It challenges the drivers, and they know what to expect," said Susan Lingenfelter, Hubbard transportation supervisor, who also took part in the smoky school bus scenario.

She continued, "It takes like three to five minutes for a bus to go up in flames, 45 seconds for it to fill up with smoke. So, they basically have a two-minute rule where you've got to get these kids off the bus within two minutes. Most of the buses don't have aides to help. This helps the bus driver to put to memory, 'OK, this is what I've got to do if this catches fire' because you really want to evacuate the bus and get students off the bus as soon as possible."

Other first responders, including Stanish, showed the proper use of a fire extinguisher.

The final training involved learning how to operate the lift in the special needs bus, which transports students of all ages who have disabilities.

A bus aide for three years, Roy Lee of Hubbard showed the correct buttons to push in order to make the lift move downward from the bus to ground level and back again as well as how to secure a wheelchair.

A bus driver for 30 years, Renee Lee of Hubbard recalled the rewards of transporting those with disabilities for much of her career and seeing firsthand the progress that is made.

"The non-verbal, talking, the ones that weren't walking, walking. They definitely need to be taken care of differently but it's not difficult. You get to love them, and they mean a lot to you," she said.

As a crossing guard, Todd Coonce of Hubbard doesn't travel on a bus, but he took part in the training in order to learn additional safety actions if an emergency situation ever comes up.

"I'm here to help out if a bus driver ever has any trouble. I'm always around the kids, getting kids off of the buses and passing them through to get them on their way home; just around the bus drivers all the time. Anything that goes on with school, I'm always wanting to try to help out in any way."

Asked about her thoughts on the day's training, Nicole Durrett of Hubbard, who has been a bus driver for seven years, said, "I enjoy the hands-on training. This is a lot more visual (and better) understanding than just sitting in a room. It's very helpful for us to know. Hopefully, we're never going to have to use it."