Massive Bus Depot Blaze Devastates Bromsgrove Firm
A huge fire tore through Kev’s Cars and Coaches in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, on Friday night, destroying almost the entire fleet.
Fire Spreads Rapidly Among Packed Vehicles
The blaze ignited around 10pm at the Birmingham Road depot. Buses were parked close together, allowing flames to spread fast, said Amy Bailey from Hereford and Worcester Fire Service. Up to 70 firefighters rushed in, tackling an “intensive” inferno that was soon brought under control.
“It’s interesting to see it in the daylight today compared to when we saw it last night fully ablaze,” said Ms Bailey. “There’s a lot more vehicles than we were able to look at—many 100% damaged by fire. It’s quite a dramatic scene.”
Company Devastated but Services to Resume Soon
Wendy and Kevin Nind, owners of the business, described the fire as “catastrophic.” Thankfully, no one was injured.
They revealed all but one bus is lost in the blaze, meaning some school bus services will be disrupted. Thanks to help from other local operators, full bus services are expected to return by mid next week.
Coach routes mainly serving schoolchildren in Redditch and Bromsgrove for Worcestershire County Council will run normally from Monday. However, key affected routes include:
- 147 Halesowen to Bromsgrove
- 355 Droitwich to Worcester
- 318 Bromsgrove to Stourbridge
- 19 Maypole to Rubery
- 39/39A Woodgate/Quinton to Longbridge
- 38 Northfield to Selly Oak
- 42 Hollymoor to West Heath
Ongoing Investigation and Support for Business
The fire service continues its investigation, amid challenges due to the scale of the damage.
“The business owners were upset by what had happened,” added Ms Bailey. “It’s terrible to see and we’ll be trying to help and support them as much as we can.”
West Midlands Fire Service crews lent vital assistance to local teams during the emergency.
