Fire engulfs new hydrogen bus and fueling station at Golden Empire Transit
A GET hydrogen bus, valued at $1.1 million, was destroyed and part of the fueling station was damaged during an early morning fire on Golden State Highway. PHOTO: Brandon A. Barraza
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — UPDATED (10:25 P.M.): A GET hydrogen bus, valued at $1.1 million, was destroyed and part of the fueling station was damaged during an early morning fire on Golden State Highway.
GET said on July 18, 2023, at 1:15 a.m., the Bakersfield Fire Department was called to Golden Empire Transit at 1830 Golden State Avenue, responding to reports of a fire on the property.
A section of Golden State Highway was closed as firefighters battled the blaze.
GET said in a release a portion of the new hydrogen fueling station and a hydrogen fuel cell bus was engulfed in flames.
“It is too early to speculate what happened and the Bakersfield Fire Department is conducting an investigation,” said Karen King CEO of Golden Empire Transit.
The hydrogen buses were being fueled at the time of the fire.
According to the release, one bus was destroyed and only the dispensing portion of the hydrogen fueling station was damaged.
Explosions were heard and seen from the tanks on the bus that had just been filled, but the primary tanks of the actual fueling station did not ignite due to safety technology.
Janet Sanders, the Marketing Director for Golden Empire Transit, said more and more of their buses will be moving away from traditional fuel and will use zero-emission fuel like the ones involved in the fire.
Golden Empire Transit is transitioning to Zero Emission Fuel pursuant to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) requirement that 100% of new Public Transportation in California be zero-emission by 2040.
GET bus said for this reason, GET started the transition and has purchased 10 hydrogen buses and has the first hydrogen fueling station in Kern County.
“That’s how come we’ve slowly started getting hydrogen buses so that we’re compliant when it comes to 2040 and our entire fleet is zero admissions. So, the technology is really good, I think, you know, there's just gonna be things that are gonna come up with like any fuel that you use,” said Sanders.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transportation sector account for about 27% of total United States’ GHG emissions, making it the largest contributor to air pollution.
The release said, “The situation this morning could have been worse but with the functioning safety mechanisms in place and the swift action of the Bakersfield Fire Department minimized damage, and no injuries were reported.”
GET bus said the estimated cost of the hydrogen bus is $1.1 million and no estimated cost is available for the fueling station.
The state-of-the-art fueling station opened up just seven months ago.
Since it's the only hydrogen fueling station in town, Sanders said there will be delays.
“Because we are the only hydrogen fueling station in Kern County, we won't be able to fuel our 10 hydrogen buses, so it could possibly cause some delays on our service because there will be ten buses out of service because we aren't able to fuel them.”