SANFORD — The rear doors opened, and heavy white smoke billowed out.

The presence of the theatrical smoke, according to Sanford Fire Marshal Patrick Cotter, was to have bus drivers experience, as much as possible, what it is like to try to navigate through a thick haze.

Of course, this was a drill, and so there were no children on the bus. But bus drivers, charged with safely delivering children to school and home again, got a taste of what they might have to cope with should a bus ever catch on fire.

The drill took place at Ledgemere Transportation’s bus facility on Cyro Drive, in south Sanford. The company provides transportation to 3,400 pre-K to Grade 12 students, including 125 special needs students and 48 pre-K children, with the aid of 30-35 bus drivers and a dozen monitors.

So how was it for the bus driver, trying to navigate from the driver’s seat to the rear of the bus where the emergency doors are?

“You can’t see, its like a soft wall,” said longtime driver Glenda Metcalf. She said exiting the rear of the bus, where there were two people on the ground to help her make that big first step, was quite an experience.

“It was like stepping out of a cloud into nothing,” said Medcalf, who has been driving a school bus since 1984.

“It’s scary to realize how fast the bus fills up (with smoke),” said driver Nicole Shepard. “You can’t see a foot in front of you. You’re at the mercy of people helping you out.”

The drill was organized by the company’s safety team. Sandy Rowe, the regional safety coordinator, gave drivers some advice.

She urged the bus drivers to think about what they would be experiencing if the smoke were real and the bus filled with students. Monday’s drill saw the use of white, non-toxic theatrical smoke. In the real deal, it would be heavy black smoke, producing coughs and sneezing and difficulty breathing. Children would be screaming and wouldn’t be able to see – nor would the driver.

She urged bus drivers to practice, as much as possible, how they would navigate a full bus and get students out.

She said the company, which provides transportation for school students across the country, will work with school districts to keep safety at the forefront, making sure buses are not overloaded.

Ledgemere’s local safety coordinator, Nancy Stephan, reminded drivers that some students may be in wheelchairs and others may have disabilities that require special evacuation measures – like transferring a wheelchair patient from the chair to a blanket and being carried out. And the pre-K children are all strapped into their seats, with harnesses similar to the ones used in car safety seats – requiring detachment in case of an emergency.

She pointed out that drivers have a lot to think about, especially in emergencies.

“In an actual situation you’re thinking about kids, wondering if you’re forgetting anyone, traffic…” she said.

Drivers said the exercise was worthwhile.

“It raises an awareness (the drivers) didn’t have before,” said Ledgemere Transportation’s Sanford manager, Sheila Beckwith, of Monday’s exercise.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected]