More Known About Bus Barn Fire

Nov. 21, 2008 – posted by Staff Writer – photography courtesy Cobey Fullerton

On November 21, the Weston County School District #1′s bus and vehicle maintenance garage was destroyed by fire. Shortly before 10:30 PM the call went out to the fire department with news of the fire. They arrived at the scene with flames shooting high into the sky. The two story cinder block and wood structure was a total loss. Cause of the fire is initially thought to be a malfunction with in the heating system of the building, no space heaters or other small electrical appliances were thought to be involved. Arson is not suspected. The building, which also housed several offices including the Double Aces afterschool program, and all of its contents were lost, along with 9 of the 19 full-size buses and one Chevy Suburban from the school district’s vehicle fleet. The average cost of each full size bus is approximately $112,000.00, total cost of the fire has yet to be determined. Buses are on loan from the Campbell County, Natrona County, and Johnson County school districts.

“The other school districts in the area were quick to step up and offer any help they could provide”, said Darren Heib, WCSD #1 Transportation Director. “Ron Mills from Newcastle Equipment has already offered space in his building where we can keep up maintenance on our vehicles. The highway department has offered us the use of some tools. A community like Newcastle is very generous! We are doing the best we can with what we have.” KASL will continue to follow this story and bring you information on the air and online as it is released. Pictures of the fire were provided by Cobey Fullerton.