Car bursts into flames traveling along Ann Arbor street
The Ann Arbor Fire Department extinguished this car fire Monday morning. The vehicle was a total loss.
Courtesy of the Ann Arbor Fire Department
The fire broke out about 7:30 a.m. as a woman was driving it on Jackson Avenue.
Courtesy of the Ann Arbor Fire Department
The woman told firefighters that when she noticed smoke filling the cab, she pulled over, got out of the car and saw fire under the hood.
When Ann Arbor firefighters arrived, the vehicle was engulfed in flames, firefighters said in the release.
The fire was extinguished in about 10 minutes, said Robert Vogel, battalion chief for the department.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
"It was some kind of mechanical issue," Vogel said.
No injuries were reported.
View 2012 Washtenaw County Traffic Reports in a larger map
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Ron Granger
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 10:29 p.m.
After seeing a car burn, I bought a fire extinguisher for my car. I know such a safety precaution seems quaint in these 'modern times'.
AfterDark
Tue, Jun 26, 2012 : 10:42 a.m.
Even if you manage to get the hood open the fire usually flares with the increased airflow to it. Any extinguisher smaller than 30 lbs won't be of much use on an engine fire.
EyeHeartA2
Tue, Jun 26, 2012 : midnight
Can't hurt, but when the hood release system melts a bit, you can't get the hood open.
brimble
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 7:51 p.m.
Ford Focus cars were recalled many years ago to mitigate a potential problem with engine fires (based on the pictures, I'd bet that this one is at least seven years old). Very few vehicle owners ever get recall work done on their cars, so this could have resulted from a known and correctable issue. By the same token, some other lack of maintenance, an electrical problem, or even an animal getting into the wrong spot could also have been the cause. No point speculating as to the specific cause.
TheGerman
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 6:46 p.m.
Why was my comment that my Ford Focus caught on fire removed? I feel that it is very relevant to the story. Older models are prone to engine fires because any oil that leaks from the valve cover gasket drips down and pools on the manifold where it can will produce a lot of smoke in a best case scenario, or catch on fire in a worst case scenario. Poorly designed.
TheGerman
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 7:25 p.m.
@Rabid: The second it starts leaking it is likely to drip oil and catch on fire. I'm not sure how often you check your gaskets, but I'd be amazed if somebody caught theirs leaking the day it started. If I would have noticed it sooner, I would have fixed it obviously. That still doesn't mean it wasn't designed poorly. As another poster stated, do a quick Google search for Ford Focus fires, and yes I stand by my statement that the older models are prone to fires.
Rabid Wolverine
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 7:11 p.m.
So, what you are saying is that there was an issue that you should have fixed in your vehicle, and you didn't. The effect of this was a car leaking oil and potentially creating a fire, yet it is a poor design. How about fixing your valve gasket in the first place?
Goober
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 7:05 p.m.
Pardon me - prone to fires? Are you an official spokesperson for Ford? Are you an automotive engineer and have your position covered by much fact and data?
EyeHeartA2
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 6:31 p.m.
Mechanical issue? Like rubbing two pieces of wood together? Seems unlikely.
EyeHeartA2
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 11:58 p.m.
That's kinda what I was thinking. Fuel or oil on the exhaust. Maybe electrical. Mechanical? I doubt it.
Michigan Reader
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 6:50 p.m.
By the volume of flames, it looks like it MAY have been a fuel system leak, or maybe a gusher.
SonnyDog09
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 5:53 p.m.
Going back to a previous discussion, what was the response time of the firefighters?
BornNRaised
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 8:07 p.m.
Why? A car fire is always a loss. If the car caught fire in the driveway of the fire station it would still be a loss.
AfterDark
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 5:30 p.m.
This report doesn't give the model year of her car but there was a recall some time ago on 1999-2009 Ford Focus vehicles for risk of engine fire.
talker
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 9:09 p.m.
Is it possible that she bought it used from a private owner and that she hasn't yet received the recall notice from Ford? I just thought of that as one possibility. It would be helpful to know when the recall was issued and the year of the car. The report that the car looked like a recent model wouldn't remove the possibility of the car having been recalled because the recall was for models through 2009. She did the smartest thing she could and that was to get out of the car ASAP.
justcurious
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 6:06 p.m.
It looks pretty new to me.
justcurious
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 5:30 p.m.
I just Googled "Ford Focus caught on fire" and many stories came up. I didn't do a thorough search as to whether this is a real reported problem though.
pvitaly
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 4:53 p.m.
Hi... in the second paragraph "...Wagner Road near Varsity Ford when the car car caught fire..." you say 'car' twice.
Bertha Venation
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 5:18 p.m.
I'll bet whomever was typing got interrupted. 'Tappens to me all the the time.
a2citizen
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 5 p.m.
Don't worry...he has a stuttering problem.
Always Amazed
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 4:31 p.m.
How about "burst" into flames??
hail2thevict0r
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 4:22 p.m.
I actually saw this on my way to work. I drove through the toxic plume of smoke on the other side of the road. Positive note, she probably didn't have to tow the vehicle very far considering the car burned up right in front of the Ford dealership. I'd also like an update as to what actually set the car on fire. I'd like to prevent my car from essentially exploding into flames because of a mechanical issue.
bhall
Mon, Jun 25, 2012 : 4:19 p.m.
Good thing it wasn't an electric car. We'd might have mass hysteria.