Incidents where cars, buses, or other vehicles catch on fire, have become more common. Its numbers and anticipated threat are increasing. While some automobile fires are caused by crashes, most are caused by issues with a vehicle’s electrical wiring, fuel system, or even cigarettes left in the car, causing the engine to catch fire. Your best line of protection is to have these systems inspected at each service call.
How Do Cars, Buses, or other Vehicles Catch Fire?
Here are a few common reasons why vehicles and buses catch fire:
Faulty Design
Design faults in the installation of fuel systems are one of the causes of car fires. These defects are not often the primary cause of combustion, but the design lends itself to starting, fuelling, or making it more difficult to extinguish a fire.
Lack of Management
Another factor that contributes to these fires is a vehicle owner’s lack of upkeep. Again, it is not the only source of fire, but “broken components, leaky seals, or poor wiring might make the equipment friendlier to the conditions that produce a fire.” 3 Fluid leaks may provide fuel for a fire, and frayed wire might ignite and come into contact with combustible items.
Accident or Crash
Cars are intended to absorb the force of an accident via sheet metal, preventing the engine, battery, and gas tank from engaging. Even with all of the measures intended to protect in the case of a collision, automobiles nevertheless leak fluids and often have smoke and heat connected with the impact. These two elements are not always visible from the interior of the car. Another cause is as follows.
Faulty Fuel Line
Rotted fuel lines that pour gasoline or diesel onto hot engine components are the leading cause of car fires. A single spark may start a fire in gasoline at 45 degrees or higher.
Faulty Electrical Circuit
Electrical system failures are the second leading cause of automobile fires in the United States. The charging cycles of the battery may cause explosive hydrogen gas to build up in the engine compartment, and the electrical current provided by the battery can create sparks that can rapidly ignite a fluid trickle or leak vapours.
Faulty Battery
Battery-powered vehicles are more prone to flames as a result of debris striking the vehicle’s underside. The majority of fires in electric vehicles are caused by leaking coolant coming into contact with a damaged battery, resulting in ignition. Although no manufacturer has addressed the problem of such fires. New technology is introduced each year in an effort to address such difficulties.
Faulty Converter
A fire might also be caused by a blocked or overworked catalytic converter. If the remainder of the vehicle is not running efficiently, such particles may wind up in the exhaust. If the catalytic converter needs to work harder to burn off more exhaust pollutants, it may heat up to temperatures of up to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, much over its typical working temperature.
Overheated Engines
Overheating engines also can cause fluids inside them to boil outside of their permitted zones, resulting in fires. Any vehicle that overheats on a regular basis should be serviced mechanically.
What to Do When Any Car Or Vehicle Catches Fire?
An automobile is one of the most valuable items that a person can have. A vehicle is the second most costly asset a person purchases in their lifetime, behind a house. As a result, it is critical that everyone takes proper care of their vehicles. However, because of the nature and function of the automobile, it is always vulnerable to accidental or fire damage.
Precautions
Similarly, most insurance companies provide special savings if you install government-approved fire extinguishers and anti-theft alarms, and gadgets to keep your car safe from fire and theft. When purchasing a policy, check with your vehicle insurance carrier for any special discounts.
Switch Off the Engine
First and foremost, if you see any form of smoke coming out of the automobile from any side, switch off the engine and take the keys. Killing the ignition will stop any gasoline from flowing in the car’s drive system, reducing the likelihood of the fire spreading.
Leave the Vehicle
The second step is to get out of the automobile. Get out of the vehicle and let everyone else do so as well. Ascertain that everyone else has exited the vehicle. Assist children and the elderly in exiting the vehicle as soon as possible, and ensure that everyone remains at least 100 feet away from the vehicle. Remember to remove the hood before leaving the automobile.
Contact Service Center, Insurance Company
The next step is to contact the vehicle service centre as soon as possible, as well as the business with whom you have motor insurance. If you acquired auto insurance online, you would have gotten the insurance company’s contact information through SMS, email, or both. Check your phone and alert them both.
Inform Traffic Department
The fourth step is to contact the traffic police and the fire department. Most of the time, if you tell the traffic police, they will contact the fire department for you, but the best strategy is to call the fire department yourself.
Wait for the Insurance Company
The fifth step is to wait until representatives from the auto insurance company arrive and evaluate the damage. In most cases, the insurance company will send someone to assess the damage within two to three hours, but if they do not send someone, phone them and discuss the issue before you leave the scene.
Stay Safe
When a car or any automobile takes fire, everyone’s first and most crucial concern should be to safeguard the safety of all passengers in the vehicle as well as those around. When law enforcement authorities and fire tender operators give you instructions, make sure you follow them carefully and attentively. If you witness naked flames, do not attempt to put them out yourself. Even if you were able to extinguish the flames, do not approach the automobile until directed to do so. Remember that the primary concern in a vehicle or automotive fire is safety.
Conclusion
Vehicle fires may not occur as often as typical wrecks, but they are common enough to be concerning. The main message from this essay is that frequent inspections and common sense may avoid around half of the causes of automobile fires.
If your automobile catches fire while you are driving, pull over as soon as it’s safe, get yourselves and the front or rear passengers out of the vehicle as quickly as possible, and walk away from it before calling the fire department. An automobile burns out considerably quicker than you believe. In most circumstances, automobiles will totally burn out before the fire service comes.
Source: United News of Bangladesh