Truronian Fire

© Nick Rice

Its not really Plymouth Transit but its still important: News has come through that Truronian have suffered a major fire resulting in the loss of 7 buses on New Years Eve. One bus that is confirmed as destroyed is PRC856X one of the last VRTs in service. Photo above comes from Nick Rice who has kindly allowed me to post it here.


Seven buses were totally gutted in a suspected arson attack at a
Cornish depot. Four double-deckers and three single-decker buses were burned out during the fire which caused thousands of pounds' worth of damage.
Dozens of fire fighters fought the blaze at the Truronian Bus Depot
on Saturday night in Truro. The fire broke out at 9.30pm at the depot on Lighterage Hill, Newham Industrial Estate. No one was injured during the fire, which is being treated as a possible arson attack. The Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service Investigation Unit was due to re-examine the scene yesterday. The Truronian bus company said it was confident that services will not be disrupted despite the devastation to 12 per cent of its fleet. A driver raised the alarm after he had refuelled his bus and was walking towards the rest room. He saw the reflection of a burning bus in a window and called the fire service. Five fire crews arrived on the scene. However, fire fighting efforts were initially hampered by strong winds which caused the fire to spread from vehicle to vehicle. Geoff Rumbles, Truronian's joint managing director, said the quick-thinking of staff on duty stopped the fire spreading further and engulfing the rest of the fleet. He said: "I'd like to say how much we appreciate the help and very, very swift actions of the drivers who were at work on Saturday night. "They were absolutely brilliant and without their help this could have been worse." A portable building in the yard also caught alight and will have to be demolished. Nigel Vincent, spokesman for the fire service, said an investigation had been launched into the cause of the fire, which is as yet, unknown. He said: "We are not ruling anything out at the moment and are investigating the cause of the fire along with police colleagues. "It's early days. "An investigation will be carried out but at this moment in time we won't discount anything." Truronian Ltd was formed in September 1987 and quickly acquired Truronian Tours followed by Flora Motors in Helston and City Taxis in Truro. Over the last three years, more than £2 million has been invested in new vehicles. It operates a fleet of nearly 90 vehicles including 62 buses and coaches, 25 taxis and other vehicles.

It has since been reported that six Arriva Olympians are heading to Cornwall to help out the fleet - it remains to be seen if they are on loan or acquired.

Other news is that Plymouth Citybus Dart 47 is the latest to receive the new livery - thought to have been repainted back in November 2005. I will post a photo here when I get one.
didbygraham