Dramatic video captures school bus explosion in Hammonds Plains

Chase Valiant was in the middle of making an afternoon snack when his day took a dramatic turn.

"I was just making guacamole, going about my day, and I heard a big bang," he said Friday, a day after the incident.

He rushed outside his home, located on a quiet street in Hammonds Plains, N.S., only to find a school bus engulfed in flames, with thick black smoke permeating the air.

"I was shocked, and I was just thinking, hoping, that everyone had gotten off the bus," he said. 

The bus, which was taking elementary students home from Hammonds Plains Consolidated School, was evacuated shortly before the bus caught fire on Thursday afternoon.

But Valiant didn't know that at the time. It was only after he got confirmation that nobody was on the bus that he started taking video. 

In doing so, he captured another big bang on camera, documenting the moment when the front of the bus exploded again, sending flames, smoke and debris soaring.

It took some time before the fire was extinguished, he said, and crews were still cleaning up the scene on Friday morning. 

"A bus exploding," said Valiant. "Can't say I've ever heard of that happening."

In an email, Lynn Corkum, the school's principal, told parents the bus driver pulled over on Carnoustie Drive and got all the students off safely after noticing smoke coming from the engine. 

"They remained calm and followed the driver's lead in a very scary situation," said Corkum. "I am proud of everyone involved." 

RCMP in Halifax say they responded to a report of the incident at around 3:40 p.m. on Thursday.

There were no injuries due to the fire itself, but one youth suffered minor injuries during the evacuation. 

Lindsey Bunin, a spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Centre for Education, said the incident is being investigated.