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November 14, 2007
CarDomain's Totally Unofficial Guide to Putting Out a Vehicle Fire
By Jen
Editor
Massive Disclaimer: consult any credible source about extinguishing car fires, and they’ll basically tell you that you shouldn’t. That’s rightwhat they want you to do is pull over, get as far away as possible, helplessly watch your car burn to a crisp, and let the fire department deal with it. The risks of fighting the fire yourself are too great, they say. However, we’re sure there are many of you among our membership who would rather perish with your ride than watch it burn, and for these crazy maniacs who are going to go ahead and try to battle the flames despite the obvious personal dangers, we’ve assembled some basic info on the safest way to go about it.
- In your vehicle, carry a well-secured and reasonably hefty fire extinguisher, but one that you can operate with one hand. A fire can easily flare up again after the contents of your dinky glove-box extinguisher are spent, so you’ll want to be able to drown it completely on the first try.
- The majority of fires start in the engine bay, and once they get going, you have an average of five or six minutes before they infiltrate the passenger compartment. Work fast.
- If you have an interior hood release, pop it as soon as you’re aware of the fire. If you wait until the release cable has stretched or burned up, you won’t be able to get at the fire and your ride will be lost.
- Make sure you turn the engine off to stop the flow of fuel, genius.
- Open the hood only wide enough to locate and access the fire. Do not give in to the impulse to fling the hood wide open and lean face-first into the engine compartment. Any rush of oxygen will cause a big flare-up, and you will be roasted.
- Always aim your extinguisher at the base of the fire, not the flames. Sweep the base with a back-and-forth motion, and don’t let up until all sign of fire has been eliminated.
- Be extra careful of pressurized components. While the fuel system on a fuel-injected car is of course the main one, beware of other pressurized parts that can become missiles when heated, like gas shocks for hoods and hatches, and liquid-filled bumper components on late-model cars. Avoid standing near the corners of the car.
- Know when to bail. If the fire has spread to more than one area of the vehicle, or if it’s anywhere near the gas tank, or if you’re on fire yourself, dummy, get the hell away. It’s all over anyway, and in a minute you’re going to have bigger things to worry about than replacing your car.
- If your fire begins under the dash (the second most common location), be sure to disconnect the battery as soon as possible after extinguishing the blaze. If the electrical short is still there, the fire will likely flare up again.
- After you’ve put out an upholstery fire (usually caused by a cigarette), get the smoldering seat out of your vehicle and chase down any embers that’ve burrowed down into the foam.
- Once you’ve completely extinguished the fire, don’t hang around. Your ride will likely be smoking, and the fumes produced by some automotive materials can kill you.
Comments
Anonymous
Nov 15, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Some good solid advice there. I would also advise that anyone serious about preserving their car instal a Cole Hersey battery cutoff switch somewhere easily accessible.
danny
Nov 15, 2007 at 8:15 pm
wheres the marshmallows
retroman
Nov 15, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I know NOS is not flammable by itself, but if it were anywhere near, I’m sure the added oxygen wouldn’t help any with putting that fire out. Wow, that flame job looks too realistic…Wait…it is real!!!
Paul
Nov 15, 2007 at 3:53 pm
If you have an old Volkswagen with a magnesium engine block, you’re already screwed. Magnesium is what makes sparklers burn. DO NOT douse it with water. Burning magnesium separates water into hydrogen and oxygen, which then ignites into a big ball of fire. Also, do not look at the flames. They produce large amounts of UV light, which is not good for your eyes, either.
boy
Nov 15, 2007 at 2:31 am
now see kids this is what happend when u try to pull stunts on your v-tec
carl
Nov 15, 2007 at 1:18 am
what a shame…well at least its just a honda, so no one really cares..but as stupid as this would sound i really would rather try to put it out or burn with it trying!!
Jas
Nov 14, 2007 at 11:00 pm
HAHA cool story ‘TED’,guess u guys really had a crappy night,lol the tidal wave was halarious lol.If my ride ever caught on fire i would jump out,take the bus home and call my insurance rights away!no need to stand around and watch it burn.
craig
Nov 14, 2007 at 9:57 pm
F.Y.I. NOS is NOT flamable alone. it helps add oxygen to the chamber to burn up more gas
retroman
Nov 14, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Wow!! Finally a Honda that will “smoke” every car in sight. I doubt that guy had NOS, but if he did, I sure hope he bolted it somewhere safer than in the back seat.
Austin
Nov 14, 2007 at 3:55 pm
This should be number one in this case.
1. CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT RIGHT AWAY.
It takes several minutes for people to get to your burning car, and the more time they have to respond while your car is just in the smoldering stage the better. Also, if your car is anything like the picture above, just get away. A regular 5 pound extingusher isn’t going to do anything, and the smoke/risk of exploding gas struts is FAR too dangerous for anyone besides trained personel to handle. Remember, the insurance company is going to total your car anyway. It’s not worth your life.
Anonymous
Nov 14, 2007 at 6:31 am
If the fire is to the point or type where it is turning over its own engine starter… just walk/run away. Especially if it look like the photo above. It gets a fuel prime pumping, then heat sucks on it on its own even after the pumping isn’t pumping and… well use imagination. I saw one hellacious car fire not even pros could put out, and that was the scenario.One of only two I have ever seen, and one of those was impossible very very fast.I thought if a fire scenario in a rig as well.. more reasons to get out of the way than be a hero there as well. Its only 70 grand or so, big deal, your alive.
Ted
Nov 14, 2007 at 3:05 am
Wow… the mention of cigarette igniting the interior reminds me of something that happened like 25 years ago.
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I went with a bunch of friends to see a late movie a couple towns away. We went in this kid Kevin’s old Duster, complete with severly-torn vinyl upholstery. On the way there, he almost got in a head-on when he dropped his cigarette in his seat, literally. He was sitting more on foam and springs than vinyl. He thought he extinguished it on the way then we arrived to go see the movie.
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Well, after the movie (sometime around midnight) we’re walking back to the car and I notice I can’t see through the interior of the car. It’s opaque grey. Reality set in and a couple of us ran back into the mall (now closed) to see if we could get an extinguisher. The guard forbode us from using an in-house extinguisher (asshole) but allowed us to fill a 5 gallon plastic bucket which naturally took what seemed (and really was in this case) forever.
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We get the bucket with as much water as possible still in it to the car. Fortunately the others had the cerebral capacity to not have opened the car in the meantime. We opened the door and amazingly it was still in the smoldering stage. We thoroughly doused the smoking seat, working in the water with fingers to ensure all was drenched. We still weren’t sure so we went back and another few gallons for good measure.
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After the fun, well there was more fun. A lot more fun. We all get in the car. Kevin was of course relieved but he just couldn’t let go and laugh with us. He was pissed. We drive off and 10 gallons of water slosh to the back LOL! We are in tears. He punshes the windshield and steam comes from his ears. He hits the brake and the tidal wave hits the front footwells like a tsunami. We completely lose it. Porky (another friend of course) advises Kevin to not keep punching the windshield or he will have something else to deal with.
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All the way home, the waves crashed. I can’t speak for the others but my gut and jaws hurt and my eyes were toast from about 25 minutes of that. It just kept getting funnier.
uberaudi
Nov 14, 2007 at 2:44 am
xenon headlamps on BMW and other cars will explode too
Ted
Nov 14, 2007 at 2:41 am
You forgot one very important thing. If your ride is a P.O.S. and it’s fully covered, call the fire department, lol…