Timing is everything.
Two motorcyclists acted just in the nick of time on Tuesday afternoon to prevent a potentially disastrous situation from occurring, after a tour bus they were riding near burst into flames along U.S. Route 219 in the city.
Stefan Fesenmeyer and Matson Stewart, both of Bradford, were riding motorcycles on Route 219 when they noticed smoke coming from the back of a Fullington Trailways motorcoach. The pair were eventually able to alert the driver to pull over after seeing billowing smoke coming from the rear engine compartment.
On Wednesday afternoon, Fesenmeyer talked to The Era about his experience at the scene of the fire.
“We were just getting the highway from the Elm Street on-ramp when we noticed the smoke,” Fesenmeyer said of the situation. “The bus was actually behind us. I was able to slow down and pull up next to the bus and flag the driver down.
“When the driver got out he thought it was another mechanical problem other than a fire that was causing the vehicle to smoke,” Fesenmeyer added. “He then grabbed a fire extinguisher when he realized it was on fire.”
Around 5 p.m. Tuesday, the motorcoach — owned and operated by Fullington out of Clearfield — was traveling in the southbound lane of Route 219 with a group of senior citizens on board after spending most of the day at the Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca, N.Y.
With the fire raging at the back of the bus, authorities said all 41 people on board, including the driver, got off the motorcoach safely after the blaze broke out. The driver and other motorists in the area stopped to assist the passengers off the vehicle.
While the passengers were being helped off the bus, Fesenmeyer said fuel was spilling out of the motorcoach and burning on the highway for a period of time.
“Then it really started burning. There is not a fire extinguisher big enough to put a fire like that out,” Fesenmeyer said.
Fesenmeyer said he and Stewart were at the scene out of sheer happenstance — the duo were going to get some gas and go riding when the fire happened.
“We were just doing what we could to help,” Fesenmeyer said. “I would like to think that anybody else would try to do the same thing. When it happened our adrenaline took over and we were able to deal with the situation that was out of the ordinary.”
The duo were also helped at the scene by another onlooker, Chuck Kohler, who witnessed the fire from his son’s first T-ball practice in a park near the Zippo Manufacturing Co. plant.
Kohler told The Era on Tuesday night that he took a fire extinguisher from the driver and attempted to use it while others helped with the passengers.
While most of the passengers were uninjured, two people have been receiving medical treatment. Those two passengers were transported to Bradford Regional Medical Center for chest pain associated with smoke inhalation.
In a press release issued to The Era by Fullington on Wednesday afternoon, officials said the company “is making sure those passengers receive excellent care and we expect they will be released from the hospital soon.”
Fullington also assisted in getting the other passengers home.
“Fullington Trailways will do all it can to replace any items that were lost,” the company’s statement read, adding the bus line is cooperating fully with the authorities as investigators seek to find the cause of the fire.
The company said the driver of the bus — who was not identified — has been with the company for 20 years and has an “excellent record.”
“Our company wishes to express its sympathy to those impacted by this incident,” Fullington said in a statement. “Every day, and on every trip, we strive to make the experience on one of our motorcoaches a great one and exceed our customer’s expectations.”
Bradford Township volunteer fire chief Dan Burkhouse said the accidental fire was caused by an electrical malfunction in and around the engine compartment.
Burkhouse said the fuel that spilled on the roadway was not enough to run off and pose a hazard.
Fullington Trailways has been serving passengers for 105 years, since 1908.
