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Was it a Chevy "Blazer"?; If you thought you were having a bad day!
Topic Started: Apr 19 2015, 09:00 PM (989 Views)
cwatkin


If you thought you were having a bad day when the Geo didn't start, check this out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMw3tlgTvkM

I think this might have been a Chevy "Blazer". Man cars sure do burn good! There were obviously some kind of metal fires like magnesium that shot off flares that looked like fireworks. The firemen spraying water helped set some of that off once they arrived.

I watched several of these: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=car+fire The horn honking seems common although I don't see how ANYTHING works with the cars burning this bad.

Anyone ever had one of these? I was cutting a junker Geo in two to scrap and it caught fire. I put it out but unfortunately some good parts I was counting on pulling melted down to nothing.

Conor
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ZXTjato
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bass heads

car fires are common 1 in 7 cars at the junk yard are burned, many of the roads have burn scars the asphalt melts under the cars. its a regular thing around here
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Horn


Not a smart way to get your car washed.....
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cwatkin


I talked to a rural fire fighter once and they said it was the most common kind of fire they deal with. Sometimes they start other grass or forest fires which end up being a bigger deal.

I know it happens but I don't see it on a regular basis. Yes, I have seen burned out shells as well as black melted roads from this.

Conor

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Freeman
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The Family Man

I've never seen a car fire in my life. I may have passed a shell or two that were scorched.
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Coche Blanco
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Troll Certified

I saw one in the parking lot of a Walmart a few months ago.
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Had the guy had a fire extinguisher on him it would have been nothing, I watched it start as I drove away...and once I realized it was not going to stop I stayed for the show. ^o)
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GentleRF


I once had an old Renault Dauphine catch fire on my way to some church doing when I was 16 or so. I did drive it home though.
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t3ragtop
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker

Coche Blanco
Apr 20 2015, 07:45 AM
I saw one in the parking lot of a Walmart a few months ago.
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Had the guy had a fire extinguisher on him it would have been nothing, I watched it start as I drove away...and once I realized it was not going to stop I stayed for the show. ^o)
some people should just not try to install their own stereos. :P
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cwatkin


I have heard that many car fires are due to improper modifications/installs such as car audio. They will run power straight to the battery without any fuses in line so if anything goes amiss, it is a big problem.

I know of one where a government agency was doing inspections on levees/dams during a flood and had driven a Chevy Blazer through miles of tall grass. I guess it built up around the cat. They pulled onto the interstate and then it went up like a roman candle. They got all their government as well as personal equipment out of the vehicle before it really got going. Obviously this wasn't the first time this had happened in this line of work as there were other documented situations where this had happened under similar circumstances.

I wonder how many car fires are related to an actual engine problem like oil leaking onto the exhaust manifold.

Conor
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arudlang
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Andrew

My 97 chevy blazer lit up last fall, the seals between the transfer case and transmission failed, excess fluid overfilled the transfer case and they have a breather hose on the transfer case but the stupid thing was sitting right above the passenger side exhaust manifold, stock location AFAIK. That made a nice smokey flamey BBQ. Luckily I do keep a fire extinguisher in every vehicle so I was able to put it out. Without having that extinguisher in the back that thing would have burnt to a crisp before any help arrived.

I highly recommend people drop $12 and get one of those mini fire extinguishers for the back of the car, even if you don't think you will use it yourself... Coche could have helped that guy in walmart put out that small one (if he cared to after finishing toasting his marshmallows :popcorn )
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perfesser
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Elite Member - Former Metro owner

The old Volvo P544 had dual sidedraft carbs right above the exhaust manifold. I've seen at least 4 of those go up in smoke. My first car fire, though, was our '54 VW Beetle. I was getting something out of the back and the metal battery pan they had over the battery under the rear bench seat (what on earth were they thinking??) touched both terminals. The only thing we were able to save from that was the St. Christopher medal.

It's amazing how many things there are in a modern car to explode! I once came across a car fire that had just started. The guy saw smoke where there shouldn't be any, so he stopped, dropped the horse trailer and then pulled forward about 20' and the truck died. From there on it just wasn't real pretty! There are suspension shocks, bumper impact shocks, tires, a cooling system ... This was before cell phones, so it took awhile for the volunteer fire department to show up. About all they could do then was put out the asphalt under it. The couple in the truck got all their stuff out, and the horses were okay.

Counting the two that started with me in the car, I've probably seen a dozen or so fully-involved vehicle fires. For a few model years I made the fuel rails on all of GM's 3.8 liter V6 engines. When I was teaching new employee orientations, I'd tell them that the only thing more enthusiastic than a car fire was the next-of-kin's lawyer!

BTW - Here's a shot of how they deliver Hotmail! :D :D :D

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Horn


Perfesser - I think that is Dayle's mail truck....just getting back at the government.
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cwatkin


At least it looks like they got all the mail out before it went up. I can say one thing for the Post Office. They are very protective of the mail and don't want to lose it to anything.

I have a one use extinguisher and may get a couple more just in case. I know of cases where people are able to stop fires if they get them soon enough.

One of my neighbors was talking about her sister's car burning up the other day. She said it had a minor fire at the Wal-Mart parking lot. The fire dept. was close and put it out. They said the car was fine and that she cold just drive it normally and no work was required. She drove it the rest of the day without problems but parked it outside and came in. A few minutes later the headlights came on and were shining in the window, then the horn started blowing and wouldn't stop. She went outside to investigate and the car was completely on fire this time. Oops!

Conor

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Johnny Mullet
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Fear the Mullet

I bought an 85 Fiero for $200 a few years ago and on the way home the engine compartment caught fire and it burned to the ground on the side of the road.
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cwatkin


I always heard that some of the early Fieros really lived up to their name! The funny thing is that I guess they were pretty solid by the time they were discontinued but the image was tarnished and couldn't recover. I know a few people who mess with them and their seems to be a cult following.

Conor
Edited by cwatkin, Apr 20 2015, 03:28 PM.
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