Fuel Odor Prompts Bus Driver to Call for Assistance

A bus driver requested assistance in unloading Waples Mill Elementary students Wednesday morning; in a later and separate incident, a medical helicopter landed on the schoolyard for an emergency in a nearby neighborhood, according to an email sent to parents.

Principal Linda Thetford sent an email through the Keep In Touch system Wednesday afternoon informing the school community a bus driver detected a strong fuel smell and called school staff for assistance in getting students off the bus.

No students reported feeling ill or required medical attention, and a different bus was used to transport students after dismissal, she wrote.

The bus was in front of the school when the driver called for assistance, Fairfax County Public Schools spokesperson John Torre wrote in an email. An engine leak may have caused the gas odor in the bus, he wrote.

Later a medical helicopter landed in the schoolyard, closing the playground to students, to transport a patient involved in an incident on nearby Cobb Hill Court.

A spokesperson with the Fairfax County Police said an officer was dispatched around 11:30 a.m. to the 11800 block of Cobb Hill Court to assist in an incident handled by the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. A representative from the Fire and Rescue Department has not yet responded to a request for information.