An overnight camping trip by Jim Thorpe Area High School history students ended abruptly on Sunday when their bus caught fire and was destroyed by the flames.

About 25 students and four adults - two advisors and two chaperones - were en route to Gettysburg and were planning to camp on the Gettysburg Battlefield overnight last night.At about 10:30 a.m. along Route 15 in Dillsburg, York County, a smell of smoke was detected on the bus and the vehicle began slowing down.When the bus was brought to a stop along the shoulder of the road, the students were told to evacuate through the rear door.Thomas Lesisko, high school principal, said, "Within five minutes the whole bus was burning."All the students had evacuated safely and there were no injuries."The kids were shaken up, but they were never really in danger," Lesisko said. "As soon as they smelled the smoke, it was treated as something serious."The fire not only consumed the bus but also the belongings of the students, including camping gear. Lesisko said students lost various other items. One had a trumpet lost in the fire, another a class ring, and another one lost an iPod.Kuhn Transportation of Jim Thorpe dispatched another bus to the scene to transport the students home. They arrived back in Jim Thorpe by about 4 p.m.Lesisko said an effort will be made to reschedule the Gettysburg camping trip, an annual event for the history students. He admitted that because it is so late in the school year that this might not be possible.The fire was investigated by the Carroll Township (York County) Police Department.Police said when they arrived on scene, the bus was fully engulfed in flames.The driver, Mathew Wertman, 40, of Bowmanstown, told police he was driving when the bus started to lose power. He saw smoke coming from the dashboard and pulled the bus off to the side of the road to evacuate the occupants.Lesisko said another school district in the area of the incident dispatched a bus to the site. The students were taken to Al's Pizza in Dillsburg.Al's Pizza treated the students to free lunch, said Lesisko.The principal said he will be sending thank you notes to both the school district in the York area which transported the students from the fire scene and to Al's Pizza."Everyone just treated them so nicely," Lesisko said.