DALLAS — Multiple school buses caught fire at a lot on Thursday afternoon, sending thick, black smoke around the Northwest Dallas area.
Crews battled the fire at a lot near Interstate 35E and Manana Drive. It's unclear what led to the fire.
Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) said it responded around 3:30 p.m. after receiving calls about a tractor on fire and that other tractors were around it. When crews arrived, they found that the fire had spread to other vehicles.
An aerial view of the scene showed crews putting out flames that engulfed multiple school buses.
Employees where the vehicles were stationed told WFAA that the company converts diesel vehicles to natural gas.
The fire department confirmed the vehicles involved in the fire were compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and that an explosion was heard from one of the CNG tanks.
"That was scary," Battalion Chief Michael Culvert told WFAA of the explosion.
"The initial blast, the flames, you can see a bumper that blew out into the street."
Felix Agurre owns the lot next to the vehicles and called 911 when he witnessed the fire.
"You know, it’s so close to you, it’s so close to you...you’re scared something blows your way," he said.
The fire department said no injuries were reported.
"These things happen sometimes for a reason just to open our eyes and be thankful every single day that we wake up and just thank God for the next day," Agurre said.
"Pretty fortunate on that explosion" Calvert added.
"Any time everybody goes home, it's good."
Crews worked to put out hot spots and are monitoring the area to make sure no other CNG tanks were affected.
Some of the buses in the lot had "Tulsa Public Schools" on them.