{"id":11345,"date":"2020-01-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fightfastvideos.com\/blog\/?p=11345"},"modified":"2021-04-05T21:11:33","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T21:11:33","slug":"vehicle-fires-questions-answered-by-dennis-curley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fightfastvideos.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/01\/vehicle-fires-questions-answered-by-dennis-curley\/","title":{"rendered":"Vehicle Fires -- Questions Answered by Dennis Curley"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\nIn my previous blog post<\/a> I wrote about how my firefighting crew tried to save a woman who was trapped in her burning car. This incident ended tragically, but I shared the story in the hope that people learn from it.\n\nLooks like my wish came true -- because a lot of you asked some great questions looking for more details about what happened, why it happened, and what to do about it. I\u2019ll try to answer a few of those questions here:\n\n\n\n[dfads params='groups=292&limit=1&orderby=random']\n

Exactly how common are car fires?<\/h4>\nA lot more common than most people think. According to the most recent stats from the U.S. Fire Administration, one in seven fires is a vehicle fire, firefighters in America responded to over 180,000 car fires in 2018 and, on average, nearly 2,000 people are killed or injured in vehicle fires each year.\n

How do most cars start on fire in the first place?<\/h4>\nHollywood movies have convinced the public that when cars crash into each other they instantly burst into flames and then explode while the hero swaggers off in slow motion with his back to the blazing mushroom cloud. Pretty entertaining, I have to admit, but it\u2019s not reality.\n\nAs a firefighter, I\u2019ve been up close and personal with a lot of cars fully engulfed in flames and I\u2019ve never seen one explode. Collisions often cause car fires - no doubt about it -- but the key to surviving them is to keep calm and to follow the steps I\u2019ve outlined below.\n\nThe first step involves some simple vehicle checks. Collisions are not the only cause of car fires -- mechanical and electrical problems also lead to many tragic fires.\n
[dfads params='groups=290&limit=1&orderby=random']<\/div>\n

How did the woman\u2019s car start on fire?<\/h4>\nThe fire in the woman\u2019s car that I wrote about in the last blog started because of an overheated catalytic converter. This is not an uncommon cause of vehicle fires-- especially in older cars.\n\nCatalytic converters (sometimes called \u201ccats\u201d) are designed to reduce pollution from engine exhaust. Engines that have a lot of wear and tear on them pump out dirtier exhaust. This can overwhelm and clog the catalytic converter.\n\nA clogged cat can reach temperatures above 2,000 degrees fahrenheit. This is more than hot enough to ignite a car\u2019s cabin insulation and carpeting through the heat shields and floor pan.\n\nRapidly spreading flames melt insulation on wires and short out the car\u2019s electrical system (think power windows that won\u2019t roll down and power door locks that won\u2019t open) while toxic smoke quickly fills the car\u2019s interior, posing extreme danger to anyone inside the vehicle.\n

How can I prevent a fire from happening in my personal vehicle?<\/h4>\nOne important takeaway here is that first line of defense against vehicle fires is to run a safety check on your vehicle -- especially if it has some hard miles on it. Here are some warning signs:\n