A fully involved vehicle fire in a large SUV occurred at 20th and Chase in Gary, Indiana (date unknown possibly September 2009). While firefighters were wrapping up, a head-on collision at moderate speeds occurred down the street (you can hear the crash at 5:05 elapsed time). No injuries at either incident.

Many people worry about huge car explosions, such as they see on television or movies, but the biggest risk at a car fire is probably getting hit by another vehicle in a second incident caused by human error of drivers distracted by the first incident. Another risk of car fires is getting hit by an exploding air bag canister. Air bags usually detonate during fully involved vehicle fires. The canister can go airborne like a missile and fly out the back window of the vehicle — landing up to about 50 feet directly behind the rear of a vehicle. The canister is sharp and made of metal, so impact with the human body could cause serious injury or death. Notice the videographer doesn’t stand directly behind the SUV. Firefighters face other hazards in newer vehicles — namely hybrids energized by electricity.

Video is by Edward Malik, a photographer and videographer from the south Chicago suburbs and Gary, Indiana area.

See also …
mabas21.com

Buffalo Grove firefighters responded to a fully-involved engine fire in a Porsche 944 about 12:15 p.m. Thursday on Dundee Road, just west of Buffalo Grove Road.

Buffalo Grove firefighters knocked down the fire in minutes, but drivers approaching the scene saw thick black smoke coming from a red Porsche 944 in the center lane prior to the arrival of Buffalo Grove Fire Department.

The car was burning in the center lane of Dundee Road in front of Quality Car Center & Car Wash and Taco Bell. The car was NOT being serviced at Quality Car. The Porsche was eastbound on Dundee Road when it caught fire. Numerous people reported the fire and at least one person caught the car fire on video.

Apparently, a problem with a leaking fuel line under the car caused ignition of fuel and a subsequent well-involved fire, mostly limited to the engine compartment. The car had been in storage in a shop where it was being worked on by the owner … and was just being driven home.

No injuries were reported.

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*The Kodak EasyShare V1253 took a good picture with excellent focus. The on-the-spot camera-to-camera dub on location caused a loss of focus.

Carlos, 7, and his six-year-old sister were hiding in a locked bathroom when Carlos called 9-1-1. The three offenders fled when they learned that the 9-1-1 call had already been placed. Carlos had already given the 9-1-1 operator detailed information about the home invasion. “Bring some cops … and ambulance … and all of them … and bring soldier, too (elapsed time 0:41)”

When three armed robbers found Carlos hiding in the bathroom with his sister, the offenders asked him who he was talking to on the phone. In the 9-1-1 audio you can hear the men enter the bathroom. The 9-1-1 operator is heard relaying the information that the robbers broke into the bathroom to the other dispatcher that was in contact with responding police units.

Nobody was injured in the home invasion. The suspects were not captured.

Los Angeles County Sheriff 9-1-1 Operator/Dispatcher Monique Patino and Carlos met in front of the media Wednesday.

Less than a minute after a firefighter ventilates a top story window (3:46 elapsed time), a large backdraft engulfs the house (4:12 elapsed time). Four firefighters suffered facial burns. One of the firefighters spent more than a week at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Three of the injured firefighters were standing near the front door. The rush of flames blew out the front door. The fourth injured firefighter was hit by flames while he was on a ladder. The biggest risk of harmful or fatal injury is when a person inhales the hot air. An injured airway can swell and block air to the lungs.

A backdraft is a situation which can occur when a fire is starved of oxygen; consequently combustion ceases but the fuel gases and smoke remain at high temperature. If oxygen is re-introduced to the fire, by opening a door to a closed room, combustion can restart often resulting in an explosive effect as the gases heat and expand like a blast or explosion. Ventilating a roof or an upper window helps the gases escape upward and helps the heat escape upward.

Characteristic signs of a backdraft situation include yellow or brown smoke, smoke which exits small holes in puffs (a sort of breathing effect) and is often found around the edges of doors and windows, and windows which appear brown or black when viewed from the exterior. These darker colors are caused by incomplete combustion. If the room contains a lot of soot, it indicates that the room lacks enough oxygen to permit combustion. Firefighters often look to see if there is soot on the inside of windows and in cracks around in the room. The window might have cracked because of the heat. The windows of the structure may also have a slight vibration due to the pressure differentials. The surrounding environment (e.g. the hallway outside the suspected backdraft room) will be extremely hot.

A flashover is similar to a backdraft, but does not involve the introduction of oxygen to an oxygen-starved fire area as a cause of the increased combustion. A flashover is the near simultaneous ignition of all combustible material in an enclosed area. When certain materials are heated they undergo thermal decomposition and release flammable gases. Flashover occurs when the majority of surfaces in a space are heated to the autoignition temperature of the flammable gases. Flashover normally occurs at 500 °C (930 °F) or 1,100°F for ordinary combustibles, and an incident heat flux at floor level of 1.8 Btu/ft²*s (20 kW/m²).

An example of flashover is what happens after a piece of furniture starts to burn in a domestic room. The fire involving the initial piece of furniture can produce a layer of hot smoke which spreads across the ceiling in the room. The hot buoyant smoke layer grows in depth (downward), as it is bounded by the walls of the room. The radiated heat from this layer heats the surfaces of the combustible materials (other non-burning furniture, toys clothing) in the room, causing them to give off flammable gases via pyrolysis or material decomposition caused by high temperature. When the surface temperatures become high enough, these gases ignite (at a flashpoint temperature) and the entire room becomes engulfed in flames. Autoignition is also known as kindling point, and is defined as the temperature at which a material will spontaneously ignite in a normal atmosphere without the initiation of a spark or flame.

An off-duty Arlington Heights Fire Department lieutenant came to the aid of people involved in a two-vehicle crash in the intersection of Rand Road and Euclid Avenue about 12:40 p.m. Wednesday. A silver Mitsubishi Galant and a green Nissan Pathfinder collided in the intersection. The off-duty fire lieutenant asked victims on the corner if they were O.K. as he headed toward the person that was trapped in the Pathfinder. A witness of the accident near the Mobil station called 9-1-1. He heard that the man trapped in the Pathfinder may have had a broken leg. The man was transported to the hospital by Mount Prospect Fire Department firefighter/paramedics. He was freed from the vehicle by 12:55 p.m. The rescue-ambulance remained at the scene for a short time for patient assessment and stabilization prior to transportation. No other people were transported to the hospital.

Heavy traffic delays occurred at Rand and Euclid in all directions. A large amount of automotive fluids were spilled onto the intersection. Hillside towing was working to absorb the fluids at least until 1:30 p.m. Arlington Heights police had extra manpower at the scene for traffic management. Mount Prospect police officers were also committed to traffic managemet

Video developing …

Overall, Toyota has recalled more than 8 million cars and trucks worldwide because gas pedals and floor mats that can cause the accelerator to become stuck. But judging from the comments on YouTube, many people think the action of James Stikes was staged.

Monday, Stikes called 911 to report his Prius was accelerating out of his control. Sikes was driving eastbound on Interstate 8 near Lake Jennings Park Road at 1:30 p.m. Monday when he tried to pass a slower car. Sikes then noticed that the Prius seemed to be accelerating on its own. Sikes reported he attempted to bring the car under control himself, then called 911 when the vehicle hit speeds over 90 miles per hour. Sikes claims his vehicle reached 94 mph.

A California Highway patrol car caught up to Sikes when he was east of Kitchen Creek Road — a distance of over 20 miles from the location where the incident began. CHP officer Todd Neibert approached alongside the Prius and gave Sikes instructions over the police car’s public address system.

After instructions from officer Neibert, Sikes used his brakes and his emergency brake to slow the car down. Sikes said the car slowed to 55. After several attempts to shut off the car by using the ENGINE START STOP button, he was successful. The officer could smell the brakes, and Sikes remembers looking out the window of the car while he was looking at the police car and standing on his own brake pedal.

The Prius will be investigated by federal officials, and Toyota will also investigate the Prius. Toyota officials also want to interview Sikes.

Toyota Instructional Video: Stopping Procedure for sticking accelerator pedal.

View Strange World in a larger map
Map of California Interstate 8 near Kitchen Creek Road and Mission Bay California — east of San Diego, California, near Cleveland National Forest.

See also …
Toyota Recall Videos – Stopping Procedure

Cook County Sheriff’s police are investigating the accident.