If a car suddenly starts to burn, quick action is required. Three car owners in NRW had to experience this within a week.
- Fire in the car: Suddenly the smell of fire comes from the engine compartment.
- Twice the car is at a petrol station in NRW.
- In three cases in NRW, the cars burn out completely.
Hamm / Halver / Balve - Suddenly smoke rises from the engine compartment , it smells burned: Three men from NRW saw their cars go up in flames within a week . Two of them noticed the smell of fire when they drove their car to a gas station .
In Hamm (NRW) the fire brigade had to fear bad things when the mission report came in: " Vehicle fire at a petrol station ". In such a situation, spreading the flames would lead to disaster. But on Tuesday the fire was limited to the engine compartment of the older Mercedes model . The car was parked under a roof, at a sufficient distance from petrol pumps and petrol hoses *. The operation nevertheless had an impact: For a good half hour an intersection in the inner city of Hammer had to be closed.
The driver of a second Mercedes was still behind the wheel when he smelled fire: he had just driven to the gas station area in Hemer in the Sauerland (North Rhine-Westphalia). Mind-boggling, he steered his car back onto the street *, headed for a nearby parking lot, and brought himself to safety - the flames were already blowing out of the engine compartment . The fire department came. The comrades could not prevent the Benz from burning out . By using plenty of extinguishing foam, the emergency personnel quickly got the fire under control.
When his car suddenly smoked, a man in Hemer (NRW) reacted just right - and steered it back onto the street from the gas station area.
© Fire department Hemer
Car burns at gas station: raised with forklift
The Mercedes was lifted with the help of a forklift , so it could also be deleted from below.
In Halver, also in Sauerland (NRW), the driver of a Mercedes was on a country road shortly before midnight when it started to smoke. The man pulled his SUV to the side of the road, got himself and his belongings to safety and dialed the emergency call . Not much was left of this third vehicle either. The street had to be laboriously cleaned and temporarily blocked.
Fire in the engine compartment: hazard lights on and ignition off
The three car owners from NRW reacted cautiously. The most important rule when the car suddenly burns is: don't panic!
A good idea is to find a safe place to stop and stop the car. You should make sure that other vehicles or road users are not in danger. Then the hazard warning lights should be switched on and the ignition switched off.
Fire in the engine compartment: don't panic!
Once that's done: Get out . If you have a fire extinguisher at hand, you can open the bonnet a bit and give several short bursts of fire into the engine compartment, the "R + V" insurance recommends. However, caution is advised, since the fresh air supply can additionally ignite a fire. Calling the fire brigade is mandatory. The parked vehicle should be secured until the experts arrive - provided the warning triangle can still be reached.
Video: A car goes up in flames - family man reacts absolutely correctly
By the way, according to Dekra, a fuel or oil leak on hot engine parts is the most common cause of a fire in the engine compartment. The fire can also result from the friction of vehicle parts with an operating fluid. Another cause is short circuits or a spill from another vehicle.
* WA.de and * COME-ON.de are part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital central editorial office.
