Country singer Jerrod Niemann initially refused to believe his tour bus had caught fire on Tuesday night (06Mar12) as he thought the burning smell was coming from a heater.
The One More Drinkin' Song hitmaker was about to drive off into the night after performing at a benefit show in Chattanooga, Tennessee when the drama occurred.
Niemann was aware of a nasty smell when he got onboard the vehicle, but didn't realise it was coming from a fire until his travelling companions discovered the blaze and ordered him off the bus.
He tells People.com, "I smelled something when I got on the bus but I figured it was that smell a heater makes when it comes on. John Stone, a songwriter who was with us because he wrote Lee Brice's new song, said, 'Dude, I think your bus is on fire.'
"I said, 'No, that's the heater.' But he had been on Lee's bus when it caught on fire just recently, so he was pretty adamant. He and Lee went outside and Lee came back on and said, 'No dude, this bus is on fire! You need to get your stuff and get off now!'"
The vehicle was engulfed in flames just minutes after they fled and Niemann can't believe his lucky escape.
He adds, "We could see the fire moving up from the back corner of the bus, under the bus, and we were backing up, then the windshield blew out with a piece of blind stuck to it. All the pressure built up and blew it out.
"I'm just grateful to John and Lee for recognising it, and so thankful that we weren't parked somewhere sleeping because we may not have smelled the smoke at all until it was too late. It happened so fast we didn't have time to get scared, but we were pretty shook up after."
Brice suffered a similar drama in January (12) when his bus caught fire in Mesa, Arizona after nine hours on the road.