From Huntsville OPP:
At 8:32 a.m., Huntsville O.P.P. responded to a school bus on fire on Earls Road in Huntsville. All students were evacuated from the bus and transported to their schools by other buses. There were no injuries to any students or the driver.
Huntsville Fire Department attended the scene to extinguish fire and Hydro One crews attended to ensure sure no loss of services to power in the area as power lines were near the fully engulfed vehicle.
Earls Road has been re-opened and there is no further police investigation at this time.
From Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department:
Around 8:30 a.m. on January 13, 2025, the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department responded to a reported vehicle fire on Earls Road in Huntsville. Crews from Station 1 Huntsville, comprising 11 firefighters and 2 trucks, responded to the event.
Upon arrival, firefighters discovered an electric school bus engulfed in flames. Fire crews used water from a nearby fire hydrant to extinguish the fire. The fire did not damage any of the homes on Earls Road and no injuries have been reported. The school bus had broken down prior to the fire starting. The driver of the bus had called for a replacement bus which picked up the passengers shortly before the flames became visible.
No cause of the fire has been determined, and it is not believed that the large battery of the electric school bus was involved in the fire. The Office of the Fire Marshal has been contacted.
A large amount of water was applied to extinguish the fire and the Town of Huntsville asks members of the community to avoid Earls Road between Muskoka Road 3 N and Campus Trail due to ice on the road.
From Dean Campbell of Campbell Bus Lines:
The driver of the bus reported that as he turned onto Earls road in Huntsville he smelled a plastic smell that he compared to candles on a birthday cake. He turned off his heaters and the smell continued to get worse as he travelled down the hill on Earls road. He immediately pulled over and evacuated his students to a safe area. I cannot say enough about how fast the driver reacted and his ability to stay calm!
The school bus is an Electric powered school bus so the fire was electrical in nature however the batteries were not comprised in the fire, they are encased in steel vaults and the actions of the Huntsville lake of Bays fire department put the fire out and cooled the batteries prior to them catching fire.