The competition at speech and debate meets can get heated, but not as hot as the Whitefish bus did last Saturday.

A passerby on 3rd Ave. in Ronan called 911 to report a fire in the back of a bus about 5:30 p.m. Nov. 23 – the day Ronan High School hosted its annual Speech and Debate meet.

Ronan Police responded, as did the Ronan Volunteer Fire Department. Ronan Fire Chief Chris Adler says Ronan firefighters spent approximately two hours putting out the fire, which started in the back of the vehicle.

“The fire was engine-related and started in the engine compartment of the diesel bus,” Adler said.

When asked about the danger of fuel exploding, Adler said, “Cars – and a bus is just an overgrown car – don’t blow up like they do on TV or in the movies.”

He added that the fire could have happened to anybody. “It could have been my pickup,” he said.

The bus was completely engulfed in flames and burned. Adler said the drive train from the bus might be salvageable, but the rest of the vehicle was destroyed.

The Rocky Mountain Transportation bus had been hired to transport the Whitefish High School Speech and Debate team to Ronan. The bus driver was sitting on the bus with the engine idling as he waited for the students to finish the competition.

No students were aboard the bus when the fire started and the bus driver was sent to St. Luke Hospital in Ronan to be checked for possible smoke inhalation.

RHS Principal Kevin Kenelty said adults in the middle school who were waiting for the speech meet to end grabbed fire extinguishers before firefighters arrived, but they weren't able to slow the blaze.

While the Ronan fire crew was mopping up the fire, Ronan transportation director Matt Gaut received a call from the Rocky Mountain Transportation owner, who asked if Gaut could help him out with a bus to get the Whitefish kids home. Gaut called one of the activity bus drivers, Judy Kudlock, who agreed to pilot a Ronan bus back to Whitefish.

Gaut, an 11-year veteran of school transportation, said, “You never know when it’s your bus that’s going to have a problem.”