Fire damages 6 Burlington Area School District school buses, shed

TOWN OF BURLINGTON, Wis. - Six school buses were heavily damaged or destroyed by fire at a lot in Racine County early Tuesday, Feb. 2. As a result, the Burlington Area School District canceled classes for the day.

The fire happened at the Thomas Bus Service lot in the Town of Burlington. A Racine County sheriff's deputy reported smoke and fire coming from a bus shortly before 4 a.m.  

It was then discovered that numerous school buses on the property were fully engulfed in fire. Six school buses and a shed were heavily damaged.

It took firefighters roughly two hours to extinguish the flames. 

The loss of the buses and structure is estimated at $525,000.

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Officials say the fire appeared to be electrical in nature. No criminal activity is suspected at this time.

The Burlington Area School District issued a statement saying, "Our hearts go out to Thomas Bus Company, the district’s transportation partner for 50 years. Thomas Bus Company provides transportation for up to 2300 students."

The business was closed at the time of the incident -- and no employees were on scene.

The Burlington Area School District and several Catholic schools were forced to cancel classes due to transportation issues. 2,300 kids are bussed daily with Thomas.

Burlington Area School District update

Meanwhile, in-person learning, in the district’s current hybrid model, will resume on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Students in grades 7-12 in the "Group B" cohort will have in-person school and students in the "Group A" cohort will be virtual (shifting the Tuesday schedule to Wednesday).

As previously communicated, Waller Elementary will continue in the virtual learning model returning Monday, Feb. 8.

Student activities at the high school will set to take place Tuesday night, Feb. 2.