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Car fire!

KC Mar 04 2008 05:53 PM

Meant to post this the other day ... You're driving your late model Suburu station wagon down the interstate and get on the exit ramp and dense dark smoke starts billowing out of the engine compartment -- meaning not steam, but something more dire. Whatya do, besides obviously pulling over and getting out of the car?

metsmarathon Mar 04 2008 06:12 PM

wish i didnt leave my cell phone in the glove box? take pictures?

themetfairy Mar 04 2008 06:14 PM

It's a trick question - late model Subarus would never burst into flames.

KC Mar 04 2008 06:29 PM

No trickery. I got stuck in traffic the other day on 287 because a Suburu station wagon caught on fire and they closed the exit. I saw the car on the flat bed ... it was toast and the hood was melted and torn away from the car. I don't know if there was an explosion or if the firefighters had to pry it up somehow. My thinking is exactly what I said ... what do you do? If you get out of the car and pop the hood and there is a fire you're adding air to fire, probably not a good idea. Leaving the hood down causes a lot more smoke and does nothing for knowing what's going on. Whip out a fire extinguisher from the trunk and try and put it out? Get twenty feet away and help keep traffic away? Just thought about it the other day that maybe one should know what's recommended since I saw this pretty new car charred for no apparent reason -- granted it's a slim chance that it'll happen to you.

AG/DC Mar 04 2008 06:53 PM

Get anything you need out of the car. Cars don't tend to explode like that ,like they tell you they do on TV or in The Warriors. Get clear. It'll blow eventually, but get your paperwork and golf clubs out. Then go back for the kids. Um, maybe don't listen to me. Maybe these guys know: http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/driving/articles/43794/article.html Situation number five: You see or smell smoke; an engine oil light illuminates; the oil pressure gauge drops to the red zone. What just happened? Something is wrong with the engine's oil supply or circulation. If you see or smell smoke, then oil is most likely leaking somewhere where it shouldn't and then burning off. (Your car could be on fire, too, but let's not think about that). Low oil pressure is caused by either a significant loss of oil (the oil pan was punctured, for example) or a problem with the oil pump. Can you keep driving? Well, yes, but we wouldn't recommend it. The longer you drive, the more you increase the chance of causing major damage to the engine. Keep going, and you might end up with situation number two! To be safe, you'll want to get off the road as soon as you get a chance. What to do: Pull over and stop the car. Check the car's oil supply. If it is low, refill it. Attempt to determine the original problem. It could be something minor, like leaving the oil fill cap off or spilled oil from an oil change burning off a hot engine part. If you were able to fill up the oil, you might be able to drive to the nearest dealer or repair facility. Otherwise, call a tow truck. Tips for pulling to the side of the road: 1) Don't be timid. Put on your hazard flashers and move over as quickly as possible. You might have to drive like a New York cabbie to accomplish this. If you want to get over, get over. Let everyone else worry about getting out of your way. 2) Avoid stopping on the left shoulder if at all possible. If you need to walk to a gas station or pay phone, you don't want to be trying to run across traffic. 3) At night, try to stop underneath a street lamp. This will make it easier for other motorists to see you. 4) Once you are stopped, pay attention for traffic. Remember, it's a lot safer to be inside your vehicle with your seatbelt on rather than standing outside on the street. 5) If you cannot get a safe distance away from the traffic flow before coming to a stop, either stay in your car and call for help or exit your car on the passenger side and walk further off the road or up any embankment. A leading cause of highway fatalities involve stopped vehicles and passengers who get out of a broken-down car and are struck by oncoming traffic. 6) Again, remember to turn on your car's hazard lights

Rockin' Doc Mar 04 2008 06:57 PM

Basically, you pull over as quickly as possible. Turn the engine off and evacuate to a safe distance. Call 911 for help. If you do decide to try extinguishing the fire on your own, then automedia.com offers the following advice: The first response to a suspected vehicle fire is to pull over, immediately. Fire feeds off oxygen and even slow forward motion will force air into the engine compartment, basically stoking the fire. Exploding cars are generally the stuff of crime dramas, but it's still best to stop in an area away from buildings and people, if you have that option. Burning plastics and other materials can produce toxic gases—maybe not as visually exciting as an explosion, but best not to expose yourself or bystanders. Next, get yourself and passengers out of the car. However, the following recommendations about trying to put out the fire may seem contradictory, and what you do is dependent on the availability of a fire extinguisher, your ability to use it and your knowledge of auto mechanics. Some sources discourage trying to put the fire out on your own. One thing is certain: An emergency is not the time to start reading the instructions on your fire extinguisher. Everyone should have a fire extinguisher easily accessible in the passenger compartment, and one rated ABC for all types of fires is the best. If the fire is relatively small and in the interior, use your extinguisher. (Closing the doors and windows may also smother the fire.) If there's a small amount of smoke coming from under the hood, pop the release but don't lift the hood. Quickly spray through the gap, from several feet away, aiming at the base of the fire rather than the flames. The logic is based on the fact that fire feeds off oxygen and lifting the hood can turn a little fire into a large one, instantly. If the fire is large or located in the rear of the vehicle, near the gas tank, your chances of safely extinguishing it are small. While explosions from car fires are rare, the true danger is the toxic fumes. Another consideration is a vehicle equipped with gas shock absorbers or gas struts. Under intense heat both can explode and turn into lethal projectiles. That's a lot to remember, so if you forget everything else, as smoke is billowing out of your car, just remember to pull over, turn off the ignition, get everyone out of the vehicle and call for help.

Rockin' Doc Mar 04 2008 06:59 PM

Damn, Eg/DC out googled me so I go down in flames.

soupcan Mar 04 2008 07:36 PM

I can tell you what I did. Spring Break 1983 (or '84 whichever my freshman year was). Driving back to NYC from a week of sun, fun and not getting laid in Ft. Lauderdale. Five of us in my mom's flesh-colored, 1978 Plymouth Volare station wagon (yup, the one with the Corinthian leather seats). Anyhoo - it was late at night, I dunno mebbe 11:00 - 12:00 or so, we were driving through Ft. Pierce (I'll never forget that). Everyone except me and the driver were awake. Smoke starts billowing from the hood - black smoke. Definitely car-on-fire smoke. We wake everyone up and pull over immediately and jump out. Someone - Buzzy, Zeus, Pixie or Weiny (not dwarves, we were fraternity pledges) was able to pop the hood. Flames everywhere! We all start screaming at each other to get water. No water. I had half a Yoo-Hoo in the car, grabbed it and made the best effort I could to save my mother's car with chocolate milk. Didn't really do a lot. Frantically looking around I noticed that down the embankment from the highway was a swamp. We had an empty cooler in the car so I grabbed it, ran down the embankment into the swamp, filled it up and then ran up and dumped it on the engine. Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss! Fire's out. We stood there for maybe 10 minutes not knowing what to do. There were no other cars anywhere. A state trooper finally showed up. Surveyed the damage and asked how we put the fire out. I told him I ran into the swamp and filled the cooler. "That swamp? Son, there's gators in that swamp." My friends got a nice big laugh out of that. Me - not so much. The trooper said he would radio for a tow truck. 'Now don't y'all fellers worry none when he gets here. He's a black feller but he's alright. He'll take the car, take you boys to a hotel and he'll fix it fer ya. And (pause for effect) he won't Jew you none on the price ('Weiny' Weingarten and I exchanged glances). So the nice black man showed up with his truck. Reiterated that there were gators in that swamp ('big gators') and took us to a hotel where we slept and laid in the sun by the pool for one more day. At the end of the day he brought us the car back all fixed. He did however 'Jew' us on the price,but we were just happy to get the hell out of Florida.

AG/DC Mar 04 2008 07:46 PM

Classick. Thread of the year. Finalist in the Parody Challenge. Now this. Face it, you're hot. You're like the it poster. I especially like how everybody was awake but you and the driver.

Nymr83 Mar 04 2008 07:48 PM

]1) Don't be timid. Put on your hazard flashers and move over as quickly as possible. You might have to drive like a New York cabbie to accomplish this. If you want to get over, get over. Let everyone else worry about getting out of your way. 1a) ignore everything you learned in that "defensive driving" course you took to get those points off your license. ]Spring Break 1983 ... and not getting laid in Ft. Lauderdale i was a few months old so i didn't get laid that spring break either. ]we were driving through Ft. Pierce (I'll never forget that). Everyone except me and the driver were awake you mean ASLEEP, right? Whats wrong with Gators? I'd "jew you over" too if my job consisted of driving around highways in the middle of the night.

soupcan Mar 04 2008 07:53 PM

Yes, yes, yes - Asleep. It's funnier the other way but yeah.