11 children taken to hospital after Dorchester school bus incident

Eleven children were transported to the hospital today after the brakes on their school bus started smoking, officials said.

Police and fire companies received a call at 3:25 p.m. that a school bus was experiencing an engine malfunction, said Boston Fire spokesman Steve MacDonald. The children were taken to Tufts Medical Center and Boston Medical Center as a precaution. The hospitals could not be reached tonight for comment on the children.

The incident occurred on Dorchester Avenue in Dorchester.

The school bus is owned by the Boston Public Schools, said Matt Wilder, a school system spokesman. The bus was operated by the First Student school bus transportation service, which is contracted by the city, Wilder said.