A bus carrying a minor league baseball team from Iowa to its next game in Illinois caught fire shortly before 3 a.m. Friday.
Volunteer firefighters in Earlham, Iowa, said the charter bus carrying the Sioux City Explorers experienced mechanical problems that started in the vehicle’s engine compartment and quickly spread to the passenger section.
The players managed to escape the bus without injury, but the vehicle itself was a “total loss,” firefighters said, sharing photos of the bus’s completely charred rear half.
State Rep. JD Scholten, who also plays for the Sioux City Explorers, said on Facebook that the team was headed to a game in Kane County, Illinois, when the problems occurred.
“Minor league bus trips are notorious for breaking down a lot,” he wrote, alongside photos of the bus burning down. “A big thank you to the Earlham Fire Department.”
The highway around the fire site was closed for about three hours, fire officials said. The Explorers were back on the road aboard a new bus around 5:45 a.m., KTIV reported.
