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Another bus fire in Perth

Bus fire in Perth possibly caused by air-conditioning unit and was not on a gas-fuelled bus

An air-conditioning unit may have caused a recent fire on a diesel bus in Perth’s northern suburbs, preliminary information indicates.

The fire started at the front of the vehicle, an O405 NH Mercedes bus, which had been in service for about 15 years.

“The bus was carrying about a dozen passengers when the driver smelled smoke, pulled over and evacuated it and nobody was injured,” a Public Transport Authority (PTA) spokesperson says.

“The fire is unrelated to previous fires in gas buses, which started in the engine bay at the rear of the vehicle.

“We will be inspecting the air-conditioning units on all models of this bus.”

This latest incident comes after an unrelated fire broke out with passengers on-board a Transperth Mercedes Benz OC-500 gas bus in central Perth in June this year.

A Mercedes spokesperson was unable to comment on this latest incident, as the organisation is yet to inspect the bus for itself.

The bus was operating on route 344 in Alexander Heights, having come from Transperth’s Malaga depot.

The fire broke out about 8.45am, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services attended promptly and extinguished the fire but the bus was destroyed.

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