A Hero Story From The Camp Fire – Paradise School Bus Driver
A school bus driver and two teachers helped to save 22 students from the Camp Fire in Paradise, driving them away from the flames and into safety.
By DAVID on November 20, 2018
Kevin McKay is a school bus driver up in Paradise. When the fire started, he learned that the fire was quickly approaching an elementary school.
Kevin responded to the call to pick up some students, and get them far away from the fire. Without hesitation, he did just that. His own family had evacuated, but he stayed behind to get those students. Once he got to Ponderosa Elementary, 22 students loaded onto the bus. THat’s when the drive started, heading away from the smoke and the fire. He said in an interview “I just knew that things were going to continue to escalate.” He drove through smoke so thick that he could barely see ahead of him. Traffic was at a standstill a lot of the way, and he drove for 5 hours, making it just 30 miles away from the fire.
A couple teachers were on-board the bus as well, and they helped keep the children calm. When smoke started filling the bus, Kevin handed his own t-shirt to them. The two teachers started pulling strips off of it, and wetting them down. They showed the children how to breathe through the wet shirt to help filter some smoke out. Eventually, Kevin and the two teachers, Abbie Davis and Mary Ludwig, were able to reunite the children with their families.
And here’s the thing – Kevin did all that AFTER learning that his own house, and all his things, were gone. This guy’s a true hero, and I’d like to shake his hand. See a lot more on the story here.
