Rome city buses go in smoke in dawn blaze.

A police investigation is underway after three buses owned by Rome municipal transport company ATAC were destroyed in a blaze at a bus depot in the north of the city.

The fire broke out at the Grotta Rossa facility at around 04.30, just before dawn on Friday 20 August, reports La Repubblica newspaper.

There was nobody injured in the blaze which was put out by fire fighters but not before three buses were completely gutted. It is not known how the fire began.

It is not the first time that such an incident has occurred at a bus depot in Rome, with seven buses going up in smoke last summer at the Magliana depot.

Buses in Rome are also known to catch fire while in service, a phenomenon known by Romans as 'Flambus', with poor maintenance and ageing vehicles cited among the factors.