More than 700 people have joined a Facebook group to fight for a Nova Scotia bus driver who was fired for cursing at students while breaking up a fight.

A video of the incident was posted on YouTube on Tuesday but was later taken down. It shows driver Heather Vidito yelling "get the f-ck off now" at the students, who are fighting in a seat.

Friends told CBC News that Vidito was fired Thursday morning.

Vidito has not returned calls from the CBC. Stock Transportation, the company that operates the school busses for the Halifax school board, would not comment on the situation.

As of 6:30 p.m. AT on Thursday, 731 people had joined a Facebook group called "Stock Transportation – Give Heather Vidito her job back!"

The group was started by Hollie Quick. Quick's daughter is a passenger on one of Vidito's other routes.

"She reacted the way most of us would react in that kind of situation. Yes, she did drop the F-bomb, but that word is heard a lot in junior high and high school. I don't think it's anything they haven't heard before."

Quick said she felt she had to do something after she watched the video. She was happy to see so many people backing the school bus driver.

"It was a very tense situation and she had to react," she said. "I just think that if anyone was in her shoes, they have to think about how they would react. And in the end, everyone is safe."

'Very stressful'

Lloyd Osmond, a former bus driver, said he can sympathize with the situation.

"I've been on a bus where two hockey players got into a fight, and I had to go back and break them up. It was very stressful," he said. "Yes, I can see where she acted out of emotion, by swearing and stuff like that. She was probably scared for the two kids."

The students involved were from Gaetz Brook Junior High School and Eastern Shore District High School.

Doug Hadley, a spokesperson for the Halifax Regional School Board, said they have been disciplined under the code of conduct, but he wouldn't specify what the punishment was.