Heroic driver rescues 20 children from her burning school bus

In the face of danger, one Maryland bus driver risked her own life to protect her passengers.

On Sept. 12 at around 4:45 p.m. Reneita Smith's school bus full of children from Glen Arden Woods Elementary School caught on fire.

Before firefighters from the Branchville Volunteer Fire Company in College Park, Maryland could get to the scene, Smith managed to safely evacuate all 20 children on board, putting her life at risk in the process.

Facebook user Fazlul Kabir, who apparently witnessed the incident, posted two photographs of the bus driver and the charred bus nad publicly thanked Smith for her fearless actions.

Kabir explained that Smith rescued each of the children from the bus and then went back into the burning vehicle to make sure no one was left behind.

According to the post, Smith told him, "I am a mom of two kids. it's my job to save them."

Mark E. Brady, the chief spokesperson of Maryland's Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department, told Mashable that firefighters on the scene quickly extinguished the blaze and that Smith reacted impressively. "We credit the cool and calm actions of the bus driver that prevented injuries to the 20 students on-board," Brady said. "She safely evacuated the elementary aged students...while the fire grew quickly in intensity."

Brady posted dash cam footage from the volunteer chief of Branchville's vehicle on YouTube in video that shows the intensity of the blaze.

According to the video, the official cause of the fire is undetermined, though it appears to have originated near a rear wheel.

Brady wrote that most of the children were picked up at the scene by their parents.

Mashable reached out to witness Kabir for comment.