NOT A Better Burn - F-150 Problems, Part II

So... where was I?

Oh, yeah. I was in my truck in the Advance Auto parking lot, wondering what that squealing noise was coming from under the hood. I suddenly smelled something like burning rubber and then I saw some smoke coming out from under the hood. "Great", I thought, "another seized pulley." I pulled the hood release, got out of the cab, and started to open the hood. By that time smoke was coming out pretty bad... as lot more smoke than you see from a belt. Actually, it was pouring out everywhere. A guy that I recognize from Advance comes up to me and says, "You're on fire. I can see it burning behind the wheel well."

Sure enough, there it was. Then flames started to come out from under the hood by the windshield. This was no electrical fire. That gas smell........ This was a fuel fire

Well, sh*t What am I supposed to do. I'm standing there speechless idiot while my truck starts to go up in flames. The guy who saw the flames had already called the PD and FD, so there wasn't a damn thing I could do but stand and watch until they got there. Then I thought, "OMG! My 357XP is locked in the truck box" So what do I do? I run over to the truck, open the door, and pull the keys out of the ignition. Then I unlocked the box, jump up and grab the saw, and run away.

I'm a freakin' chainsaw hero! :cheese:

Several guys rushed out from the auto store with fire extinguishers. No go. The hood was way too hot to open, and they couldn't get all the fire out. It kept getting bigger and bigger until the FD got there. Thankfully, I was almost on empty (something I hadn't remembered when I jumped up to rescue the saw). Just as they got to the parking lot, I heard the glass of the windshield shatter. That seemed to just feed things more, like a gigantic torch. Then they dumped a few hundred galloons of water on it and it was out.

But what a splendid day it was otherwise, though. :roll:

Flatbedford said:

Wow! That sucks! Car fires are hot and nasty. Good thing you saved the saw. Do you have comp coverage on the truck?

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Thanks for the condolences guys... and the jokes, they really help.

Ya, they burn really hot and nasty. I've seen them on fire and seen the results later, but I never saw one start and saw how fast they can engulf the vehicle. Check out the pics after maybe a 10-minute burn:





The hood is just vaporized, and check out the stress fractures in the metal from when the water hit it. Wish I had the presence of mind to shoot a video with my phone, but I just stood there gawking, hugging my saw.


Comp insurance? Yup... only I doubt they'll give me much, certainly not enough to pay for a replacement. We've been there with an older vehicle that got creamed before. By the time they deduct all the rust and everything, figure in the mileage (170K), it'll probably be, "OK. The truck had a value of $257 before the fire.... $200 deductible... here's your check for $57."

At least I got OK with the saw intact. Funny thing, I was planning on taking all my saws apart, cleaning them well, and storing them in the truck box for the big move. The fire stayed confined to the engine compartment, but I wouldn't have known that ahead of time. Probably would have asphyxiated myself trying to save all seven of them.

Worst case scenareio was this happening while the throttle was still sticking, going up the Northway at 75 MPH, thing catches fire, hit the brakes against that racing motor, brakes fade, and I'll cooking myself at highway speed, unable to get out. :ahhh:

Bet that would make the front page.


I'll tell you, too... that smoke was pretty bad. Caught one good lungful of the stuff while I was rescuing the saw. If I didn't have quite enough respect for what firefighters go through, I sure do now. Had a headache all night long from it. Those guys, who knows what they might accidentally breathe in? And for the record, the FD guys were kind and helpful, but the cop on the scene was a major dickwad, as if I torched the thing on purpose. No sooner were the flames out and the guy starts yelling at me to get the thing out of there. Didn't even want to wait for me to make an insurance call.

Flatbedford said:

If you are ever driving a vehicle on the highway and the throttle sticks at 75 mph and you are on fire, put the thing in neutral or even shut off the engine before you cook the brakes.

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Yeah, chances are that would have occurred to me. Pulling over onto the shoulder from the fast lane with a cab full of acrid smoke would still be a problem, though. :sick: