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Paris: RATP bus catches fire on Boulevard Saint-Germain

2022-04-04T18:01:59.293Z


An electric RATP bus caught fire "spontaneously" on Monday afternoon on Boulevard Saint-Germain. The driver had time to f


Spectacular, dazzling, but fortunately without “human” consequences.

A fire of undetermined origin literally ravaged an RATP bus in circulation in the 5th arrondissement.

Despite the suddenness of the disaster, the bus driver was able to evacuate all of his passengers before the flames reached the entire cabin.

The fire caused no injuries.

The vehicle, on the other hand, was reduced to ashes within minutes.

The facts took place around 4:30 p.m. when the machinist for line 86 (Saint-Mandé/Champ-de-Mars) had just stopped his bus at the Maubert-Mutualité stop, in the middle of his journey.

The alert was given by passers-by who saw suspicious smoke escaping from the vehicle and who immediately warned the driver.

The evacuation of the bus began immediately.

Just in time to avoid tragedy.

A few minutes after the alert, the blaze spread throughout the bus, releasing a thick column of black smoke visible from the entire center of the capital.

Unexplained causes

The Paris firefighters who arrived on the spot immediately afterwards could not avoid the total destruction of the vehicle.

According to the first observations, the fire of the bus would be of accidental origin.

But its causes remain unexplained for the moment.

The carcass of the vehicle will be transported to the RATP workshops to be appraised and to try to determine the reasons for the outbreak of the disaster.

The stakes are high!

#Bus fire #ratp for #boulevardstgermain #Paris #RATP pic.twitter.com/Tw2MNNcHtk

— JP NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER (@JPFOTOGRAFOSS) April 4, 2022

Like other bus lines in Paris and the inner suburbs, line 86 is not equipped with "old" diesel buses at the end of their run, but 100% electric buses.

Witnesses to the fire also report having seen showers of sparks escaping from the batteries installed on the roof of the bus.

These clean vehicles (electric but also hybrid or running on biomethane) must gradually be deployed on all lines in Paris and the inner suburbs as part of the Bus 2025 plan, which should lead to the "dedicated" fleet within three years.

Since the launch of this plan in 2016, a quarter of the approximately 4,800 RATP diesel buses in circulation in the “centre zone” have been replaced by electric models.

The date of commissioning of the one that burned was not communicated.

But it had in any case been the subject of very recent control operations since it had passed (successfully) the technical control on February 14th.

This "spontaneous" bus fire is far from the first that the RATP deplores.

Less than a week ago, a bus had been ravaged by fire in Pantin.

It was, this time, a bus with thermal motorization.

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2022-04-04

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