Steamship Authority Bus Destroyed, 15 Cars Damaged In Parking Lot Fire

FALMOUTH (CBS) – Flames ripped through a bus in the Steamship Authority parking lot in Falmouth on Saturday, destroying the vehicle and damaging 15 other cars in the area.

No passengers were on board. No injuries were reported.

Witness Sheila Adams said she heard a loud bang moments before the fire.

"I pulled in the gate and the next thing we knew, 'Bang!' she said. "It just freaked us out and the smoke started, and there was a couple more 'Bangs!' It was chaos."

The fire broke out just before noon on Palmer Avenue. The bus quickly went up in flames and the fire spread to several nearby cars.

"The bus had been en route from the Palmer Avenue lot to the Thomas B. Landers Road parking lot to pick up passengers when the driver of another Steamship Authority bus alerted the driver that smoke was coming from the back of the vehicle," Steamship Authority spokesman Sean Driscoll said in a statement. "The driver returned to the Palmer Avenue lot and, shortly thereafter, saw the fire start on the bus."

The driver was able to escape the bus without injury. Firefighters knocked down the blaze in about 45 minutes.

The bus was completely destroyed. The Steamship Authority is working to make contact with the owners of the damaged vehicles and will assist them as needed, Driscoll said.

The Steamship Authority has 25 other shuttle buses in its fleet to maintain service.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but not considered suspicious.