KISSAMEE, Fla. (WWJ) - A West Michigan marching band scheduled to perform at the "Happiest Place on Earth" had an anything but happy experience over the weekend after escaping a bus fire over 1,200 miles from home.
Roughly 50 students, staff members and chaperons with the Carson City-Crystal High School Marching Band reached Orlando, Fla. early Sunday morning via charter bus ahead of performances scheduled at Disney World and Universal Studios, FOX 17 reported.
Band Director Chad Parmenter said in an update to the band's Facebook page that the group went to Magic Kingdom after they arrived too early to check into their hotel.
With their luggage, instruments, uniforms, clothing and other items still on the bus, the group decided to spend a full day at the park.
"I had a couple kids first time to Florida, a couple kids first time out of Michigan," Parmenter said. "You know, just traveling with a good group of kids and and having new experiences with them."
But the magical day hit a rough patch around 9:30 p.m. Sunday (March 17) night when the charter bus blew a tire while going back to the hotel.
The driver pulled off to the side of the road and had parked when a second tire went out. The cabin area then filled with smoke and those onboard noticed the fire.
"Jumping to action, which I thought that the kids like yeah, they were scared," said Parmenter. "The staff was scared but was really impressed on how everybody immediately jumped to action and was able to focus on the main thing, and that was get off the bus."
All 53 people on board safely evacuated, but the fire engulfed the rear of the bus.
According to the band director, the Osceola County Fire Rescue and Osceola County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and extinguished the blaze, which consumed roughly a third of the bus.
While the flames didn't reach the compartments where their items were stored, they were nonetheless damaged from water, smoke and heat.
“Anything that was inside the bus is, right now, considered a loss,” Parmenter told The Daily News. “We were able to get some cash and some IDs, those kinds of things, out of the inside of the bus, but all of our luggage is severely smoke damaged, all of our clothes. I haven’t opened up the uniform bags, but nothing was burned. Nothing was burned under the bus in the storage compartment. We spent quite a bit of time on the side of the road salvaging what we could, finding IDs, any cash we could find from out of the parts of the overhead compartment that were spared.”
Everyone finally made it back to the hotel around 1 a.m. Monday (March 18), but their scheduled performance for the same morning at Universal Studios was cancelled so the group could shop for necessities.
“We have a new bus for [Monday] and we’ll have a permanent bus for our trip home,” he said. “We are just working on getting some clothes for the kids.”
Parmenter said he spent most of the day on the phone with parents, the tour company and park administrators to salvage the trip. Students will still get to spend time at Universal Studios before heading back home to Carson City on Wednesday.
The Eagles marching band director said while the experience was scary, it also brought the group together.
"My seniors, you know, stepping up to plate and making sure my younger kids were good, even though my seniors were struggling," Parmenter told FOX 17. "... You never want to build relationships and team building this way. But this is going to bring us closer and stronger."