JACKSON TWP — A fire wasn't something a bus full of tourists had bet on, but it was the bum deal they got early this morning on Interstate 79.

No one was hurt in the fire just before 8 a.m., but some 70 riders on the charter bus headed to the new slots casino in Erie had their gambling excursion delayed.

The small fire in the engine compartment stopped the northbound bus owned by T.A. Nelson Bus Lines of Connellsville. The driver, who was not immediately identified, grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the flames.

The blaze was out by the time firefighters arrived, said Chief Tim Sapienza of the Harmony Volunteer Fire Company.

"The damage was minor,"Sapienza said. "The fire probably started in the exhaust area of the engine."

Apair of A.J. Myers and Son's school buses were called out and drove the tourists to the Jackson Township municipal building to wait for a fill-in Nelson bus to resume the Erie-bound trip.

State police are investigating, but a report was not available this morning.