A bus running on natural gas caught fire this Sunday, December 17 in a depot. The fire spread to six other vehicles of the same type before the firefighters intervened.
A fire broke out in front of the Aubervilliers bus depot (Seine-Saint-Denis) on the morning of Sunday December 17, BFM Paris Île-de-France learned from RATP. Firefighters immediately intervened and managed to contain the fire.
“The provisional report shows seven cars, which were very seriously damaged,” specifies the Paris transport authority.
The bus that initially caught fire, before the fire spread, was an Origami coach, a BioNGV vehicle, running on natural gas.
The RATP adds, however, that no injuries were reported and that the fire had no consequences on the maintenance and charging infrastructure, as well as on the fleet of buses operated on regular RATP lines. The transport offer on regular lines therefore remains unchanged.
In total, around fifteen engines and around sixty firefighters responded to the disaster. Six lances, three of which were very powerful, were used to fight the flames, Paris firefighters added.
“A burning smell”
According to Ahmed Berrahal, RATP machinist and CGT unionist, the bus “immediately” caught fire when the bus driver started the vehicle.
“He smells burning. He goes behind the hood and he sees that it catches fire,” he recalls to BFM Paris Île-de-France. “Since it’s a gasoline bus, he sees big flames coming out. »
The driver was unable to put out the flames with his fire extinguisher and therefore contacted the fire brigade with colleagues.
An internal investigation opened
For Ahmed Berrahal, the gas bus is “a danger for local residents and users”. “Today, they give us gasoline vans (…). Today, there were no deaths, but it could have exploded,” he believes. “There are houses nearby. We are carrying children on this bus.
The trade unionist adds that the bus driver is “very traumatized” today. “The question really arises: ‘Is a gas depot really safe when you see schools and homes next to it?’ » For him, the fear of an explosion at the depot or the bus he drives is constant.
“We see, there are a lot of buses today at the RATP that catch fire, whether they are electric or gas buses. »
RATP informs us that an internal investigation has been opened to determine the exact circumstances of the fire.
Rémi Sanlis and Juliette Moreau Alvarez
