Montreal Electric School Bus Catches Fire, Five Children Evacuated Safely

An electric school bus manufactured by Lion Electric caught fire on Tuesday morning in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, but the driver and five children on board evacuated safely without injury. The incident occurred near Jean-Talon Street West and Victoria Avenue shortly after the driver turned off the heating system and noticed smoke coming from the vents. Fire officials confirmed the fire was not related to the bus’s battery system, which allowed firefighters to quickly contain the blaze. The bus was destroyed, and the cause of the fire remains unknown, with investigations ongoing. This is the second incident this year involving a Lion Electric school bus catching fire, following a similar event in Huntsville, Ontario. Despite the company's recent bankruptcy filing after Quebec withdrew subsidies, Lion Electric has been relaunched by investors, continuing to manufacture electric school buses, with over 1,100 of its buses still operating in the province.