A school bus carrying the Queens Intermediate football team caught fire in Houston after a coach detected a burning smell and ordered the pupils off the vehicle, officials said.
The incident happened on Tuesday evening, September 22, as the Pasadena Independent School District group travelled back from an athletic event. The bus developed a mechanical problem near the 8800 block of Winkler Drive, north-west of Hobby Airport. ([fox26houston.com](https://www.fox26houston.com/news/pasadena-isd-school-bus-caught-fire-queens-intermediate-09232026))
Queens Intermediate football team evacuated before bus fire
Five coaches helped move all the student athletes away from the bus before it was engulfed in flames. No injuries were reported.
Once the evacuation was complete, the pupils were taken from the scene on a Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County bus. Coaches remained with them until every child had been reunited with their family.
Pasadena ISD said the coach driving the bus acted immediately after noticing the smell of burning, allowing the evacuation to begin before the fire took hold.
The district praised the coaches for their calm response and thanked Pasadena ISD Police, Precinct 2 constables and Houston Fire Department crews who attended the scene.
Queens Intermediate is one of Pasadena ISD’s intermediate schools and is based on Queens Road in Houston. ([queens.pasadenaisd.org](https://queens.pasadenaisd.org/))
The precise cause of the mechanical failure remains under investigation.
