Kari Thorp spots flame on school bus and yells fire to driver
In East Bethel, Minnesota, Kari Thorp spotted a flame above a school bus tire, yelled fire, and helped driver Rick Gratton get the children off before the bus was engulfed.
FaithTap · Nov 9, 2026 · 1 min read
"As soon as I got out the door I noticed the first flame right above the tire, and I immediately yelled, 'Fire,'" Kari Thorp told Inside Edition.
She was there for her 6-year-old daughter, a student on the bus route, at her house in East Bethel, Minnesota. Rick Gratton, the driver, could not see the flames and was about to pull away with the children still aboard. One account said 21 kids were on board. Inside Edition and ABC said 22.
Rick Gratton helped get the children off the bus. Thorp got the children onto her front porch. The children were led from the porch down the block, away from the bus. "The kids were scared. A lot of them were crying, some of them had backpacks and lunch boxes on there so they were kinda worried about that," Thorp told Fox9.
Shortly after, a Ring doorbell camera caught the fire building, the bus fully engulfed in flames, and two explosions as the front tires blew.
St. Francis Area Schools gave Rick Gratton and Kari Thorp gift baskets. The community recognized them.
"It was scary, but I think I had so much adrenaline going I was just worried about getting everyone off," Thorp told Fox9.