Fire in the car. What to do?

If a fire breaks out in the car while driving, the driver must first of all take care of his own safety and the safety of passengers and call the fire brigade.

According to Polish law, a powder fire extinguisher is a mandatory equipment for every car. In order for it to fulfill its task in the event of a fire, the driver must regularly check its condition in a specialized garage. Here, experts first of all check whether the active substance responsible for the release of the extinguishing agent is active. Such a service costs only about 10 PLN, but guarantees that the fire extinguisher will not fail in the event of a malfunction. You must also remember to transport in an easily accessible place.

From the observations of firefighters, it follows that the most common source of ignition in a car is the engine compartment. Fortunately, if you act quickly, such a fire can be quite effectively suppressed before it spreads to the rest of the car - but be very careful. First of all, in no case should you open the entire mask for blanking, and in extreme cases, open it slightly. It is very important. If the hole is too wide, a large amount of oxygen will enter under the hood, which will automatically increase the fire, warns Radoslav Jaskulsky, a safe driving instructor at Skoda Auto Szkola.

When opening the mask, be careful not to burn your hands. - Extinguish the fire through a small gap. The ideal solution would be to have two fire extinguishers and at the same time supply the fire extinguishing agent into the engine compartment from below, says Brig. Marcin Betleja from the voivodeship headquarters of the State Fire Service in Rzeszów. He adds that one should not be too afraid of a fuel explosion.

– We were brought up on high-profile films, where a light friction of a car against an obstacle is enough, and a small spark leads to a spectacular explosion. In fact, fuel tanks, especially for LPG, are well protected. They very rarely explode during a fire. To do this, the spark must pass through the fuel lines to the tank. High temperatures alone are not enough, says Marcin Betleja.

Experts recommend that, regardless of any attempts to put out the fire yourself, immediately call the firefighters. First of all, get all passengers out of the car and make sure that the places where the car is parked can be safely exposed.

“We absolutely do not do this when the car is standing in the middle of the road, because another car could hit us,” warns Betleya. Radoslav Jaskulski adds that a fire inside a car is much more difficult to control: – Plastics and upholstery burn very quickly, and the smoke generated from such a fire is very toxic. Therefore, if the fire is large, it is better to move away from the car and provide it to firefighters, says Yaskulsky. He says that during one of the trainings he took part in a campaign to put out a fire in a car.

- To control such an element, a powder fire extinguisher is not enough. Although the guards joined the action about two minutes later, only the carcass remained of the car, the instructor recalls. Experts warn that often the driver himself contributes to the fire. For example, smoking in the car. “In the summer, you can completely accidentally set your car on fire by parking it on dry grass. It is enough for him to intercept from the hot catalyst and the fire will quickly spread to the car. You need to be very careful with this, - says Radoslav Jaskulsky.