Front Page News Clip

MallRide catches fire By EMMA MARSHALL, Special to the Daily News Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Firefighters scramble to put out a fire on an RTD MallRide bus on the 16th Street Mall at Stout Street yesterday. There were no injuries in the fire. Photo courtesy of Emma Marshall.

Shoppers and downtown workers felt the heat yesterday morning when a Regional Transportation District MallRide shuttle caught fire.The incident had pedestrians ablaze with curiosity just before 11 a.m. on the southeast corner of 16th and Stout streets along the 16th Street Mall. No injuries were reported, according to RTD spokeswoman Daria Serna.

Preliminary findings indicate that a short in the shuttle�s battery caused the fire, said Serna.

As many as eight passengers were on board at the time, but all exited safely and quickly, said the operator of the bus, according to RTD�s spokeswoman.

�It�s gonna blow!� said a newspaper vendor as he quickly gathered his papers in front of Starbucks, just a few shops down from the fire.�

There are 36 MallRides operating with hybrid-electric power, however, so there was never a danger for a big explosion, explained Serna.�

The backside of the bus was engulfed in flames at one point, but firefighters tamed the fire before it spread.�

After a few moments, the fire was out and a thick cloud of smoke blew across the crowd waiting for the southbound light rail directly across the intersection from the bus.

Bystanders sat on nearby benches, close enough to feel the heat of the flames and inhale the smoke. The only reaction was a few sour faces caused by a mouthful of smoke, and a mild cough from anyone walking by.

The fire disrupted RTD�s free MallRide service for 20 minutes, and the bus had to be towed back to the station for maintenance.�

Over 50,000 people ride the free shuttle on an average weekday, according to RTD.

Fire Footage Aired on 7News at 10:10p.m.!

That fire I mentioned landed a little slot on the 10:00 newscast! (Channel 7)

Young Entrepeneurs

With all the businesses raking in the cash downtown during the DNC, Quinn Matuschek, 11 and her sister Josephine, 6, set up a free lemonade stand on 16th Street Mall. They were not charging for the lemonade, but the dollars were rolling in from passersby during the first day of the convention. After I asked Quinn if she had met anyone famous, guess who approached the lemonade stand. Russ Sullivan, the Director of the Senate Finance Committee made a generous donation to the young entrepeneurs, seen in my footage below.

Contradictory Protestors...

Has anyone noticed any contradictions in some of the protest groups' ideals?
Take a second and ask one member of the group what they are protesting and why...and then ask another. I'll put some examples as the convention continues.

Fire in 7News Backyard and nobody knew?

I started the day covering a story on Barack Obama adopting a dog after election...and ended up in the middle of an apartment fire clean-up. Firetrucks crowded the corner of 6th and Logan where a fire occurred on the fifth floor just minutes earlier. The fire was contained in one apartment.

Residents of the building were sitting on the grass and on benches in front of the building. They refused to comment at the time. According to the Denver Fire Department, the incident was contained in a quick manner and nobody was seriously injured. The cause of the fire was unknown. An investigation is underway.
There were no other reporters or cameras at the scene.

Regardless, my camera was rolling and I gave the footage to 7News.

Other things are happening in Denver, other than the DNC.