Arsonists are believed to be behind the Friday morning torching of four school buses that were parked in the parking lot of an Elgin elementary school.
The first call of the fire came in at around 4 a.m., and when crews arrived at Prairie View Grade School, at 10N630 Nessler Road, they found all four of the Central School District buses engulfed in flames.
It took firefighters about 45 minutes to put the intense flames out. The buses, valued at about $80,000 apiece and leased by the district, were a total loss.
"We can't say it's arson at this point, but four buses in the corner of the parking lot at four in the morning is definitely very suspicious," said Lt. Pat Gengler with the Kane County Sheriff's Office.
No injuries were reported, and the buses were far enough away from the school that the building wasn't damaged, police said.
"We take this very seriously because our district -- it really has a family feel to it, so when something like this happens here, it affects everyone," said Supt. Todd Stirn.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
