Tulsa Public School Bus Driver Honored For Bravery

A Tulsa Public School bus driver was honored Monday for getting 15 students off a burning school bus last Monday, November 21, 2011.

The bus was on its way to William Penn Elementary School when it caught fire. Yolanda Palmer stopped the bus and got the students off safely.

11/21/2011 Related Story: Driver Gets All Students Safely Off Burning Tulsa School Bus

Yolanda Palmer is still in her first year driving a bus for Tulsa Public Schools, but she's already experienced the kind of emergency few drivers ever have.

"I seen the flames and get up out of my seat and stood in front of the flames and said ‘we got to get off the bus,' and had them get out through the front door," Palmer said.

Last Monday, bus 3193 caught fire as she was driving to Penn Elementary. She got 15 students off the bus, while blocking them from the developing fire.

The fire extinguisher on board wasn't enough to stop the fire, and the bus was a total loss. But no children were hurt - and neither was Palmer.

"No I wasn't, just my clothes and my shoes were scorched and I smelled burnt," she said.

Monday, AAA Oklahoma honored Palmer for her quick and calm actions to protect the students.

"Yolanda was responsible for those students and she did a great job keeping them safe," said Rosalyn Van-Jackson, Tulsa Public Schools.

A check of the burned out bus by Tulsa Public Schools leads them to believe the fire started from an undetected leak in the exhaust system that ignited something near the driver's feet.

"We have determined that it was an equipment failure and we've sent the bus to a third party to check our assessment and we're working to get that done as fast as possible," Van-Jackson said.

The district says they've checked over the other buses and they appear to be fine. Monday, Palmer is back on her route and can laugh about what happened, while others are applauding her.

The children were 5-10 years old. Palmer says she evacuated them out the front of the bus, instead of the rear door, because they were all in the front by the exit.