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Bus driver, aide and first responders praised after Setauket special-needs bus fire
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Summary
At the May 13 Three Village Central School District Board of Education meeting, administrators publicly thanked a bus driver, a bus aide and volunteer firefighters after a special-needs minibus caught fire April 22 on Barker Drive; no students were injured and the district recognized responders at the meeting.
A bus driver and a bus aide who evacuated students from a special-needs minibus that caught fire April 22 were publicly thanked by district leaders at the Three Village Central School District Board of Education meeting on May 13.
School official Mr. Carlson described the scene: "The bus was fully engulfed in flames" by the time crews could put it out, and "all of the sheet metal on the sides and the roof of the bus were gone," he said. Carlson credited driver Joe Trapani and aide Juana Nunez with keeping students calm and ensuring their safe exit. "They got the kids off. They kept them calm," Carlson said.
Carlson told the board that the bus carried students from Arrowhead School and that school staff — identified in the meeting as Mrs. Redden and Mrs. Horowitz — notified parents and comforted children. Community volunteers and local firefighters also helped at the scene, Carlson said, and he singled out Terry Keough, Jack Blount and Tony Tucci for early action while Setauket Fire Department and Mount Sinai crews were committed elsewhere. Representatives from Suffolk Transportation and the local bus depot also attended the meeting.
District leaders brought the driver, the aide and several students to the dais for recognition and a photograph. Carlson thanked Suffolk Transportation representatives Joe and John Corrado and depot manager Andy Caminaris for their response and said certificates would be presented.
No injuries were reported in the meeting remarks; Carlson described one student as upset when he first arrived but said school staff calmed the child. The board did not take any formal policy action regarding transportation at the May 13 meeting.
The district made the recognition part of the regular meeting agenda; board members and administrators encouraged the community to acknowledge the quick actions of the bus staff and volunteer responders.
Looking ahead, the district did not announce specific safety-policy changes at the meeting. Board and district officials said they would continue to work with transportation providers and local fire departments on safety and communications, but no new measures or votes were recorded at the May 13 meeting.
