School bus fire in South Carolina raises concerns about fleet safety

A fire broke out on a school bus carrying about 25 Berkeley County (S.C.) students to the first day of classes Monday. No one was injured, but the incident illustrates the dangerous unpredictability of the state's 5,700-bus fleet, which is infamous for frequent breakdowns of 20-year-old hulks that have logged more than 300,000 miles. The bus was carrying students to the newly opened Cane Bay High School in Summerville when it caught fire about 6:30 a.m., State bus officials say the malfunction that likely sparked Monday's fire is a known potential problem on about 2,000 of the state's school buses, but they said they can't do anything to ensure it won't happen again.