RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. – Southern California fire officials say a school bus carrying 35 students was safely evacuated when a fire broke out in the engine compartment as it arrived at a middle school.
Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Steve Concialdi says the driver got all the children off the bus Friday morning outside Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate School.
No one was injured, but three children were treated for emotional distress.
The blaze, which spread to a small area of vegetation, was put out in less than 15 minutes.
Concialdi says the fire burned from the engine into the first three rows, and smoke damaged the rest of the bus, which is a total loss.
Students already in the school at the time were moved to a sports field.
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