Vehicle Fire Safety

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) says 33 car fires are reported every hour in the U.S., and 18 percent of all reported fires occur on a road or highway and involve a motor vehicle. One person per day died in a car fire incident between 2003 and 2005, and in 2007 there were 258,000 vehicle fires causing 385 deaths, 1,675 injuries and 1.41 billion dollars' worth of damages. Teens and young adults with driver's licenses are most likely to be involved in car fire accidents, according to the National Fire Incident Reporting System, and young males are victims more often than females. Here are a few common-sense tips that can help prevent vehicle fires. *If you smell burning plastic or rubber, pull over and investigate. Don't try to make it home before you determine what the trouble is. *If a fuse keeps blowing, that's a sign of electrical trouble, the same as in your house. Don't let it keep happening without investigating, as an overloaded wire can be the source of a fire. *Avoid parking over dry grass on very hot days - catalytic converters, located under a car, get extremely hot and can ignite dried grass directly under the parked vehicle. If your car catches fire: *Signal and move immediately to the right shoulder, or right lane. Believe it or not, there are some who think if they drive faster, the wind will blow the fire out. *Stop and shut the vehicle off and get everyone out and away from the vehicle – preferably 150 feet or more. Dial 911, so the dispatcher can notify the fire department. *Don’t try and put the fire out. The hood will be extremely hot, the chemicals released from burning parts are toxic to the lungs, and by the time you’re throwing dirt or similar on the vehicle, it’s probably already hot enough that your efforts won’t put the fire out anyway.