BELINGTON, W.Va. — A Barbour County School bus became trapped by live powerlines during high winds Friday afternoon.
Belington Volunteer Fire Department Chief Phil Hart said the bus was leaving Belington on Audra Road when a tree in front of the bus fell, pulling powerlines down. Before the driver could back out of the area, another tree was behind them, bringing down more powerlines behind the bus.
“The tree that fell down in front of them pulled some electric wires down, and while they were stopped, another tree fell behind them,” Hart told MetroNews. “There were 10 kids on the bus plus the driver.”
Belington Volunteer firefighters assessed the situation and determined it was safe to evacuate the children and the driver from the bus. The children and driver were taken to a nearby building until the bus was safe to move or an alternate form of transportation was found.
“The kids are safe right now, and they have them staged in a garage area with the bus driver,” Hart said.
According to Hart, multiple agencies have been very busy as wind began to increase Friday afternoon.
“We’ve had a tree on a house, but no significant damage to the residence and no injuries,” Hart said. “That’s the fortunate thing at this time—there are no injuries reported in our area.”
Hart said his team of eight volunteers will be on duty with three pieces of equipment to respond to emergencies through the weekend.
“They will answer calls throughout the weekend as they go,” Hart said. “They will prioritize calls if it’s a life-threatening emergency or a structure fire that will take precedence over a tree.”