You can’t get much more heroic than rescuing school children from a burning bus.  Which is why public school officials and firefighters in Charlotte, North Carolina are raving about school bus driver Lindora Richardson, whose calm in the face of potential catastrophe may have saved the lives of the six children on her bus last Wednesday afternoon.

As she was delivering the students home from school, Richardson noticed a burning smell. After pulling over, smoke began pouring through the vehicle’s dashboard. Now realizing something was seriously amiss, Richardson guided the passengers, aged five to ten, out through the back of the bus and ushered them quickly down the street. Moments later, the bus was completely engulfed in flames.

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ spokeswoman said,

We are very proud of her and for her following proper procedures. It could have taken a very different turn had she not done her job correctly.”

The bus driver will be honored by the Charlotte Fire Department this week. As for Richardson, her hero turn was just a matter of instinct. “I do have two kids, and I do love children, (and) I love my job,” she explained.

[via CNN]

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