Bus catches fire in downtown Boise, temporarily closes Front Street

A private charter bus caught fire Friday on Front Street, shutting down the street for about 15 minutes.

No one was hurt. The Boise Fire Department responded shortly after 4 p.m., Battalion Chief Tom Moore said.

The bus driver parked the bus along the north side of Front Street next to the Boise Centre. When the driver got out of the bus, someone told him they could smell the fire. The driver tried using a fire extinguisher, but the fire grew larger, Moore said.

“There was a large amount of smoke totally obscuring the street and obscuring the bus,” Moore said.

Front Street was fully closed to traffic due to the smoke and fire hoses in the street, Moore said. It partially reopened with two lanes of traffic on the left side of the one-way road passing the scene. Traffic remained backed up at least an hour after the initial call to the fire department.

The rear left side of the bus was charred and the rear left tire damaged. Debris sat on the road next to the sidewalk. The smell of the fire wafted through the air close by for at least an hour.

“We suspect it was something with the left rear tires, either a brake issue or a wheel bearing issue,” he said.

Four engines, a ladder truck and an ambulance were called to the scene, but the situation wasn’t as dangerous as Moore initially feared.

“(The response) went as planned,” Moore said.