Auto fire season starts in June

Summer is fast approaching, and peak vacation driving time can unfortunately mean a greater chance of automobile fires happening on major highways. On May 8, 2011 in the northbound lane of I85 near Exit 13 in Georgia at 6:40 p.m., a truck’s cab was completely engulfed in flames. This was not a drill. (Photo by Tomi Johnson)

Police were on the scene in advance of a fire truck. Chief Jerry Heard of the Troupe County Fire Department gave the following information on the fire.

“The cab of a truck hauling a horse trailer carrying five dogs caught fire. The owner of the truck stated that he saw smoke coming from under the hood and pulled over. There were no human injuries, and the animals were o.k. The fire was extinguished by the fire department.”

If you come upon a vehicle fire, Chief Heard gives the following advice: “Notify 911 immediately, whether you know if emergency personnel are in route or not. Let the firefighters do their job. In these types of situations, pure adrenaline sets in, and citizens want to help. Our main mission is to save lives and property,” Heard maintained.

“If your own automobile is on fire, get out of the car and call 911. I have witnessed several automobile fires in my tenure with the fire department, and this is a dangerous situation, but we’re trained in what to do,” Heard said.

Photo courtesy of Troupe County, Ga. Fire and Emergency Rescue

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), a Division of FEMA, reports that approximately one in six fires is a highway vehicle fire. Highway vehicle fires occur in passenger vehicles 84 percent of the time, while 57 percent of fatal vehicle fires are the result of a collision.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a vehicle fire occurs once every two minutes, and more people die from highway auto fires than from apartment fires. A fire extinguisher should be a part of your car’s safety kit.

Deaths from vehicle fires peaked in 1985, with 770 deaths attributed to vehicle fires. In 2009, there were 260 deaths and $1.1 billion in direct property damage. For more information on this subject, go to http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v9i1.pdf.

USFA Director of Public Affairs Thomas Olshanski and Statistician Gail Kelch helped with this article as well as Matt Kilgallen with the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commission.

©2011 Tomi Johnson. All rights reserved.