Bus carrying UMass Lowell students to music competition catches fire in Westwood

Dozens of students were safely evacuated, officials said.

A bus carrying UMass Lowell students to a music competition burst into flames on Sunday afternoon, officials said.Westwood Fire Department

A bus shuttling about 40 college students to a music competition caught fire on Sunday afternoon in Westwood, officials said.

The students from the University of Massachusetts Lowell were traveling to a band show in Norwood when one of the band members smelled smoke, a university spokesperson said in a statement.

“UMass Lowell is grateful to members of the Westwood fire and police departments who responded to the incident and ensured the safety and wellbeing of our students,” the statement reads.

The bus fire broke out around 1:30 p.m., according to Robert Kilroy, Deputy Chief of the Westwood Fire Department. Crews responded to Route 109 near Grove Street.

Students sitting in the back of the bus alerted the driver to smoke out of their windows on the right, said Jameson Carroll, a 20-year-old student who was on the bus and plays tenor drums in the drumline.

“The smoke quickly got darker and heavier, and our section leader Marc started yelling to stop the bus, which we all joined in on from the back,” Carroll wrote in an text to the Globe Sunday night. “It was only once the fire started licking up the side of the bus that the bus finally pulled over.”

The students noticed something was amiss from the beginning of the bus ride, Carroll said, adding that he had joked to his friend that it sounded like they were on a train “because the wheel was making a dull thumping noise.”

“At the time I didn’t think anything of it because I assumed the bus was fine if we were actively using it,” he said. “It was fine for most of our trip, but on the highway, we heard what sounded like the tire blowing out and got a little concerned.”

That’s when they noticed the smoke.

“It was very scary being on the bus when there was fire directly outside the window next to my friends and I, but thankfully none of us were hurt,” Carroll said.

Upon arrival, first responders found the passenger bus in flames and worked quickly to extinguish the fire.

All of the students on board were safely evacuated, Kilroy said. One student was evaluated by first responders for smoke inhalation, but was not hospitalized.

Elliott Lempke, a 20-year-old student and a snare drummer, told the Globe in an email that he urged his bandmates to get away from the bus in case there was an explosion.

“I yelled at people to run away from it as I knew that with any large fire there is a risk of explosion,” Lempke said.

Firefighters knocked down the flames in about 30 minutes. After the fire was extinguished, firefighters were able to salvage thousands of dollars worth of band equipment from storage compartments underneath the bus, Kilroy said.

According to a statement from the university, a senior band member, whose name was not released, was the first to report smelling and seeing flames, which prompted the evacuation of the bus.

A second shuttle bus was called and safely transported the band to the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Associations competition at Norwood High School, “where the band performed to an enthusiastic crowd,” the university said.

“I’m glad that we performed though — I feel like we needed to put on the show despite what happened and make the best of the situation,” Carroll said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.