Cars keep catching fire on the road, how to avoid "fire lady" visiting cars in hot season?

Car fires on the road

Recently, the incident of a Mazda3 suddenly burning down while traveling on Tran Phu Street at the intersection with Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street (Ha Tinh City, Ha Tinh Province) has attracted the attention of the community.

It is worth mentioning that the owner of this Mazda3 has been at the Mazda Ha Tinh dealership since May 31 for repairs because the car was previously slightly flooded. After the repairs were completed, on the afternoon of June 21, two employees of the dealership were testing the car before handing it over to the customer when they suddenly discovered smoke coming from the front of the car, so they turned off the engine and left the car.

The fire was so big that the front of the Mazda3 was completely burned and the interior was severely damaged. The estimated damage was about 250 million VND. The car owner later said that he would ask the Mazda Ha Tinh dealer for appropriate compensation.

In fact, it is not uncommon for a car to suddenly burst into flames while running smoothly on the road like the Mazda3 in Ha Tinh mentioned above. Since the beginning of summer alone, there have been at least 10 recorded car fires.

On June 18, a Toyota Rush car was traveling on National Highway 1 (in An Binh Ward, Di An City, Binh Duong Province) when it suddenly caught fire. The fire quickly spread and engulfed the entire car, causing many people to panic. The driver quickly opened the door and ran out to escape.

Authorities quickly arrived at the scene to regulate traffic and extinguish the fire. At the scene, the 7-seat car was burned to the frame.

Previously, at noon on June 13, at the intersection of Lang Road and Nguyen Chi Thanh Street (Dong Da, Hanoi), a Hyundai Grand i10 taxi caught fire. The fire originated from inside the car and quickly spread outside, leaving the car with only its frame in just a few minutes.

According to witnesses at the scene, when they saw smoke and fire, the driver quickly parked the car in the bicycle lane next to the To Lich River on Lang Street. The fire broke out so fiercely that it broke the car windows and set the interior of the car on fire.

Also at noon on June 13, a 7-seat Mitsubishi Xpander car was traveling on National Highway 37B (through Giao Yen Commune, Giao Thuy District, Nam Dinh Province) and suddenly caught fire. Afterwards, the local Fire Prevention and Rescue Police force arrived to extinguish and control the fire. However, the Xpander was also severely damaged, fortunately there were no casualties.

There have even been cases where a car suddenly caught fire while parked, causing heavy damage. For example, at noon on May 2, a luxury BMW car suddenly caught fire while parked on the sidewalk of Ngo Thi Sy Street (Van Phuc, Ha Dong, Hanoi). At that time, the car owner had left so he did not know that his car was on fire. Authorities arrived at the scene and controlled the fire, but the car was reduced to a metal frame.

How to prevent?

Commenting on some recent car fires, auto engineer Duong Trung Kien - Director of Kien Phong Auto Service and Trading Company Limited (Cau Giay, Hanoi) said that car fires can come from subjective as well as objective causes and each case is very different.

Engineer Kien pointed out some common causes such as: the vehicle has a leak in the fuel line system; the vehicle has been repaired and modified with electrical components causing overload and short circuit; the engine overheats or the vehicle may get caught in straw or dry leaves on the road, then catch on high temperature parts of the vehicle,...

"There are countless causes of car fires, especially in the summer like now. When the weather is extremely hot, car parts can easily overheat, causing a higher risk of fire than in the cold season," Mr. Kien shared.

According to this expert, although a car suddenly catching fire is quite rare, it can still happen to anyone, on any car, especially old cars.

To limit this, engineer Duong Trung Kien gives some advice when using cars as follows:

- Regularly check and maintain the vehicle. Timely detect any damage, replace parts that are not guaranteed or have aged due to long-term use to keep the vehicle in good technical condition.

- Do not arbitrarily modify or install additional equipment to the vehicle's electrical system such as lights, sound systems, etc. that are not in accordance with the vehicle manufacturer's instructions. This can easily overload the vehicle's electrical system and cause a fire. In addition, you should pay attention to whether rats have bitten the electrical wiring system or fuel lines in the cockpit to promptly fix them.

- Avoid driving continuously for long periods of time under high temperature conditions. There should be appropriate rest periods for both people and vehicles. Regularly monitor the vehicle's temperature gauge to determine how to handle the situation in case the vehicle overheats.

- Be careful when passing through areas with flammable materials such as straw, dry leaves, and plastic bags. When passing through these areas, stop the vehicle to check the undercarriage again before leaving.

- If you accidentally discover smoke and fire in your vehicle, immediately stop the vehicle in an open area, away from flammable substances and other vehicles, then immediately turn off the ignition, get everyone in the vehicle out and use tools such as fire extinguishers, water, sand... to handle the situation on the spot.