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Sat 18 Apr 2015 16:05

Any - Car fires - craig-pd130

At the M62 summit yesterday, I was rather surprised to see a VW Passat CC ablaze on the hard shoulder. Everything forward of the windscreen was on fire, with flames going several feet into the air.

Luckily the car's occupants were well clear of the blaze. Given how fiercely it was burning, I could only think a fuel line had broken in the engine bay and had leaked in quantity into the engine.

Are car fires common these days?

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Sat 18 Apr 2015 16:13

Any - Car fires - focussed

It's not uncommon to see burnt, scorched patches in lay bys or at the side of the road-I was in the UK for five days a week or so ago and saw quite a few so have to say not uncommon.

I have had two vehicles go on fire , both Fords, both electrical causes, looms chafing and shorting out. Both stopped quickly by cropping the main battery ground lead off as had the tools on board.

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Sat 18 Apr 2015 20:34

Any - Car fires - daveyjp

I've seen a few over the years, including a Passat CC.

Brake and power steering fluid is far more flammable than fuel, it will ignite as soon as it hits a hot exhaust manifold or similar. Fuel generally requires a spark to ignite, so a fuel leak may not lead to a fire.

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Sat 18 Apr 2015 22:26

Any - Car fires - slkfanboy

it seams odd in these days of constants talk of super safe cars, but nearly all car on the road have fatel floor that can result in fire. Once on fire they then can exploded. This is mainly true of petrols as the flash point of diesel is very high and even a naked flame wont easly ignite it.

Any way, its the started motor which in nearly all cars has no fuse or safty device. In the event it jams, it can then over heat and catch fire.

Ive seen this happen and its very scary and more common that you would imagine.

If you suspect a fire under the bonnet, don't open it and get well away from the car.

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Sun 19 Apr 2015 10:50

Any - Car fires - Andrew-T

... it's the starter motor which in nearly all cars has no fuse or safty device. In the event it jams, it can then over heat and catch fire.

I don't think the starter motor will have overheated at the top of the M62 ?

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Sun 19 Apr 2015 11:41

Any - Car fires - Wackyracer

Our Astra has burned out 3 starter motors in the past due to a faulty ignition switch which kept the starter circuit energised. While it completely destroyed the starters internals both electrically and mechanically (due to being back driven by an engine being revved to driving speeds (I still find it hard to believe that the driver could not notice it!)) In those 3 occasions it never caused a fire. It did however drain the battery and result in the seizing starter stalling the engine when it got to idle speed.

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Sun 19 Apr 2015 12:55

Any - Car fires - RichT54

Are car fires common these days?

Listening to traffic reports while driving I had assumed that vehicles fires were quite common.

However, reading this web page:

http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/car-fires

it says:

Every year in the UK, over 100,000 cars which equates to nearly 300 a day go up in flames and around 100 people die as a result. Around 65% of these fires are started deliberately to cover criminal activity, to make a fraudulent insurance claim or as an act of vandalism. One in 12 reported stolen vehicle will be burnt out.

300 a day??

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Sun 19 Apr 2015 13:02

Any - Car fires - slkfanboy

This link may be helpful

www.waltersforensic.com/articles/fire_investigatio...m

says electrical issues are the second most common cause.

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Sun 19 Apr 2015 13:21

Any - Car fires - brum

Many years ago my elderly mother turned up in her astra and I remarked that it stank of petrol from the outside, she replied that it used an awful lot of petrol. I popped the bonnet and started the car to be greeted by a fine fountain of petrol spraying upward and over the engine from a split fuel line near a jubilee clip. Think it was an "independent garage" that had previously fixed it, bodged it more like with generic pipe and clips.

I reckon she was extremely lucky for it not to have ignited!

Edited by brum on 19/04/2015 at 13:27

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Sun 19 Apr 2015 21:17

Any - Car fires - PeterRed

My old Scirocco cabin got a bit smokey when I was a young man in the 80s. I looked under the glovebox and was confronted with a glowing red wire and melting plastic. I was able to grab some pliers and cut the wire which did the trick. Seemed to be related to a carburettor cut-off valve if I remember correctly.

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Sun 19 Apr 2015 21:47

Any - Car fires - Bromptonaut

300 a day??

But to give a perspective, how may million cars are on road in any one day?

Car fires crop up alomost daily in the radio traffic bulletins on Radio 5. Personally, I've seen two lorries on fire on hard shoulder in last twelve months and while I rack up plenty miles on family business I'm not out there day in day out for work.

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Mon 20 Apr 2015 18:40

Any - Car fires - Ben 10

Sorry to rain on the parade. But cars on fire do not explode like they do in Hollywood.

In 32 years of operational fire service, I never had a car on fire explode as they do in the movies. And I attended hundreds. Cars, caravans, buses and lorries.

What can "pop" are the gas filled struts, tyres or windows. If they were liable to explode into a fireball we would never walk up to them. H&S would see to that. We would wear breathing apparatus so as not to breathe in carcinogens. So the main dangers are pieces of "shrapnel", toxic smoke, running fuel, chemicals and passing traffic.

The possibility of things going bang depends on how long the vehicles have been burning and how hot certain points on the vehicles have got. Main thing if you develop an engine fire is to pull over, switch off, pop the bonnet catch if you can, evacuate and call fire brigade.

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