Another Hendy 'Hotspot', how long before someone is hurt?

Three buses in 3 days have burst into flames, first week into November. 

Another bus caught alight in London yesterday, the third bus to burst into flames in a week. Passengers were evacuated from the 152 service after it caught alight in south west London at 12.30pm. London Fire Brigade said it was called to Western Road, Mitcham, to reports of a bus alight.

Firefighters dealt with the blaze quickly and it was out by 12.54pm, a spokeswoman said.

"London Fire Brigade said it was called to Western Road in Mitcham at 12:26 GMT to reports of a vehicle fire. No passengers required treatment and the fire was out by 13:00."

Transport for London (TfL) said the three fires were "isolated" and there would be a "full investigation".

Two of the fires involved buses operated by Abellio which said there were "two separate causes for fire".

In its statement it said: "We are investigating further to isolate the root causes."

On 3 November, a bus caught fire after colliding with a car in Barnet, north London.

Police said a woman and her child left the car and were treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation.

The bus driver left the bus, which had no passengers aboard, and was not injured. 

It happened on the southbound A41 junction with Selbourne Gardens at about 18:45 GMT and caused travel delays in the area.

On the 5 November, a burning London bus showered a south London street in debris after its tyres are thought to have exploded in the fierce heat.

The blaze happened at the junction of Stafford Road and Sandy Lane in Wallington, at 14:00 GMT on Tuesday.

The driver of the 157 pulled over to the side of the road and got passengers off as smoke came from the back. 

London Ambulance service treated one person for shock. The cause of the fire is not thought to be suspicious.

"There was an explosion on the bus which threw debris from the bus across the road," a police spokesman said.

Transport for London said: "There was substantial damage to the bus including the tyres which may have been the cause of the small bang people heard."

The bus company Abellio added: "Initial investigations appear to indicate that the incident was caused by the offside rear brake seizing. This then resulted in the tyre catching fire and subsequently bursting". 

Firefighters were called after smoke began coming from the back.

"As it was during a strike by fire brigade workers, two contingency crews were sent out," London Fire Brigade (LFB) said in a statement.

"The bus was evacuated and LFB left the scene at about 15:10 GMT."

Ken Davidson, TfL's head of bus operations, said: "The fire (yesterday) was contained within the engine compartment and there was minor damage to the bus... there were no reported injuries."

He said the fires involving Abellio vehicles were due to "technical faults" and added that TfL operated a fleet of 8,700 buses

   

       Sources: The Sun, Evening Standard, BBC news.