Jerrod Niemann Says Lee Brice Saved Him From Bus Fire Explosion
It makes sense that Lee Brice would be the first one to recognize a burning bus. After all, he watched his own go up in flames last month. Last night, Jerrod Niemann's bus caught fire, and he says it was the 'Woman Like You' singer who got his attention and made sure everyone was off the bus before an explosion that would have ripped through the cabin.
"To be honest, thank the good Lord that @leebrice was here tonite or I'd be freddy Krueger," Niemann tweeted early Wednesday morning. As previously reported, the bus caught fire (Warning: image may be offensive) after the Heart Strings for Hope concert at the St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn. WRCB reports that Niemann was warned about the fire by friend Jon Stone, but he didn't believe him.
"I'm like, 'Dude, your gun's shot. Our bus is not on fire,'" Neimann recalled. "I thought it was the heater. So I went to the thermostat and it says "Auto Cool". So Lee gets off the bus and is like 'Dude, that's black smoke. Your bus is on fire.'"
Niemann added, "So we get everyone off - my family and everyone, and pretty soon we hear this 'Boom!' and we think it's the fuel line, but we look and the whole front windshield was just blown out."
Brice's bus caught fire in January after a show in Mesa, Ariz. Last March, the singer's other good friend Randy Houser lost all his gear and clothes when his bus went up in flames.
"When they first said there was a fire I thought, 'There's no way with all these other fires that mine is catching fire too,'" Niemann tells WRCB. "Too close to home you know?" He didn't spend much time feeling sorry for himself however, mentioning almost in the next breath how important the work being done at St. Jude's is.
"We get to chase our dreams every day and those little kids, who have so much hope, may not. And that's honestly why we're here."