A school bus driver in Ohio is speaking out after saving 15 students from a burning school bus.
Dorian Pace, a driver for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, said he was driving students on a bus to Monticello Middle School on the morning of Feb. 27 when he heard a loud boom coming from underneath the bus.
"I actually felt like the bus was about to blow up," Pace told "Good Morning America."
An 11-year veteran driver, Pace said he never experienced a situation like what happened that day. He also said the bus evacuation drills he does a couple times a year came in handy.
"When I pulled [the bus] over, I actually heard another boom and I saw smoke coming from the right rear tire. And then I saw flames," Pace recounted.
Pace said once he saw flames erupt, he went into what he called "bus evacuation mode."
"What was going through my mind was, 'I can't lose any kids,'" Pace recalled. "So I quickly got everybody off the bus. We all exited through the regular front door because the fire was coming from the right rear."
Hero bus driver safely evacuates students from fireAccording to Pace and the students, some were unaware how serious the fire initially was before it quickly spread throughout the bus.
"We were all scared. We called our parents," Britt Mosby, a seventh grader, recalled previously to ABC Cleveland affiliate WEWS. "It was like a couple of booms. Then, when we got somewhere, I forgot exactly where it was, the bus driver said, 'Everybody get off the bus.'"
Local residents who witnessed the dramatic incident unfold said they were also scared.
"I heard a big boom. I looked out the window and I saw flames coming from the side of the bus," Maureen Ottman told WEWS.
Hero bus driver saves 9 kids before school bus goes up in flamesPace and all of the students on board the bus escaped unharmed. Pace has been hailed a hero in the wake of the harrowing incident.
"I would feel such a level of comfort putting my kids on one of your school buses, knowing that there are men and women of this character," said Andy Wilson, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, speaking to Pace.
Davida Russell, the vice president of the Cleveland Heights City Council, added, "Thank you so very much for making all bus drivers across this state proud."
Pace said his prayers were answered that day.
"I pray on the bus every day. I try to pray before I pick up the kids and God just answered my prayers," said Pace.
Pace has since returned to driving, going back to work the Friday following the incident.
Authorities said they suspect the fire sparked somewhere behind the wheel well but the exact cause is still under investigation.
The school district also said the bus passed its annual inspection two weeks before the incident, but now, they plan to re-inspect the district's entire bus fleet out of an abundance of caution.
