I woke up and saw

[meledward23]

the car parked next to mine as a ball of fire. Well, this is all for my getting out of this apartment and onto the land we own. (Actually I am closing on a house nearby).

4:50 AM I hear much banging. My wife says honey there is a car on fire and she points where I park mine (incidentally washed for the first time in two months yesterday).

 

[meledward23]

and another view

 

[meledward23]

and a last look. I own the two vehicles not on fire in the picture as well as a Dodge One Ton not shown. That would have parked next to my other two, but it has the 20' Trailer with a load of plate steel for a small project.

 

[Thomas]

Indeed not a good way to start day /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif..glad nobody was hurt.

 

[bczoom]

Ouch...

Give your cars a careful inspection for any damage due to heat or whatever.

 

[DrRod]

Ya know, I've seen cars burn before and they just don't go up like that one or the ones on TV. I could be wrong, but the gas tank is pretty well contained and even when the fire hits it it sort of goes "poof" and then just burns. The rest of the car typically does a slow, smoldering burn not a fire ball sort of thing. Again, I could be wrong, but a fire like that probably got some help.

 

[NevadaSmith]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Ya know, I've seen cars burn before and they just don't go up like that one or the ones on TV. )</font>

Having been a fireman, I have seen many cars burn too. From the picture, it looks like the contents of the tank are now on the ground and that is what is burning so vigorously. Any fuel that could have been used to start the fire would have been burned off at this point if it was arson (unless they were stupid enough to put a whole can of gas in the car). What happens in most fires, is the contents of the gas tank expand and blow the cap off, followed by a rush of fuel out the filling nozzel. Depending on model, once all the strapping and rubber grommets burn, lots of parts fall on the floor...the gas tank can be one of them. The attached photo is of a car where the gas tank failed late into the fire.

What is more suspicious is the time of day that it occured. Cars just don't spontaniously combust in the middle of the night. However, the owner could have been warming the car, or just arrived home or....the trailer that WAS parked there could have been involved and left the scene.

Glad your cars were not parked next to it....but you no doubt will have some blistering of your paint. Car fires get pretty darn hot.

NevadaSmith

 

[Tevi]

Looks like a friction fire.Thats where the insuramnce policy rubs against the bank book causing friction and the a fire /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[JINMA224XR]

<font color="blue"> 4:50 AM I hear much banging. </font>

Hey meledward23,

Another possibility: Slow gas leak @ Tank, Cigaretty thrown while walking the dog early, before work and Kabluey. The drippage, could easily create a rather large combustible fuel area, just below the vehicle.

I had a slow leak in my gas tank about 2 years ago, and it created a puddle just below the tank, which could have easily resulted in my truck being burned.

Have a nice day,
Joe /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[GerardC]

What vehicle make is it? I saw a news program on TV that said FORD and some other vehicles had problems with cars burning because of the cruise control wire being attached to the top of the brake master cylinder if I remember correctly. In one case, the house burned down in the process as the vehicle was parked in the attached garage.