[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Called my sister and she was crying, my BIL told that on the way back near airport road a Wagon R caught fire, he immediately parked his car and stepped down to help while my sister called the PCR, he told me that the guy was frantically wavin at him to help him so he took his gear lock rod and went near the car but the moment he went near the car got engulfed in flames and fearing the cng cylinder may blast he had to back off, when he turned around the guy inside the burning car honked for him to help but my BIL was helpless

Let's apply our collective brains to solve this problem.

Here is what I suggest - throw stones, throw the wheel spanner at the car's windscreen so that it breaks and the individual can atleast avoid asphyxiation (for a min or 2 more, if nothing else).

Surely there is something doable.

That said - how explosively does a car burn? Does it just burn like wood (i.e intensely but not with explosion).

I ask because if cars dont "explode" just like that, then it makes all the more sense for us to try for that one or two minute more to save the other person whose stuck in a burning car? or am I wrong?

Let's discuss.

EDIT: something I was once taught by the Defensive Driving instructors (Hubert Ebner) is that in the event of being stuck inside a stalled car with flood waters rising - you put your legs on the dashboard and feet on the windscreen. He said that if one kicks hard enough, the windscreen can come out. IF that is feasible, then escaping a burning car (as long as inside compartment is not majorly on fire) is not tough at all. What say?

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by poloman

Mustang, How about the fire of electrical origin which started in the cabin. I had a case of smoke billowing from under the steering of my old zen due to electrical short circuit. The fire must have started very near to the occupant which explain his inability to unbuckle the seat belts and suffering 70% burns on lower body despite being rescued in a matter of minutes. Polos and Ventos are notorious for electrical malfunctionings which make this case more serious and cannot be written off as one off incident.

It could be but then the fire wont be that huge due to the lack of fuel. What we can be sure of at this stage is that the fuel tank has caught fire and thats why the rear of the cabin is the hottest zone. Also my assumption explains why people were able to reach him as the fire started at the rear and not the front. Although, The fuel tank is heavily insulated so there must have been a leak.

I have also observed a very rare occurrence when i visited the US. A police ford crown victoria had caught fire. The cause was that there was a very small leak in the fuel line and then the police officer got his car stalled on some off road which was covered with dry leaves and twigs while chasing the suspect. Now what happened was there was fuel (from the leak) , flammable dry twigs and leaves that catch fire and the ignition to this was provided by the heat below the engine bay. Car was completely in flames within 30 secs in spite of the police officer using his car fire extinguisher to douse the flames. Luckily the police officer got out in time, did not overuse his fire extinguisher and got away from the car in time and had absolutely no injuries. Note - this police car was a petrol which catches fire faster than diesel.

Such type of instances occur while parking over dry twigs and leaves. Ford manual mentions not to park over dry leaves, twigs, paper etc. in the manual of all ford vehicles. I think i saw it in the swift manual also. I guess its mentioned in the manuals of most cars. This point should also be investigated as the VW was being parked from what i have heard.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by souravc

To turn the screws on VW , I think for starters a FIR should be lodged with the local police . Its mentioned that the car is in the possession of VW , is it correct? Ideally it should be the police who should impound the car pending further investigation - given the most unfortunate demise, police should have got involved and any investigation by the company should have been under the police's supervision to prevent any hush up !

+1 to that. How can a manufacture take away evidence like that when this is a case of unnatural death? Its kind of jungle raj in India nowadays. If you have the power of money, the rule book goes out of the window. Interestingly the media houses sit mum in the face of such clear violations of the law of the land. Obviously they are more concerned about their ad revenues.

In this case, it becomes a clear case of tampering of evidence even if it eventually turns out that the car might not have had any issue after all . If the manufacturer takes the car away how can one even determine whether there was something wrong with the car. This is like a thief pronouncing a judgement on his/her own culpability. The cops failed to act totally in this case. I think the family should now immediately lodge an FIR with the cops forcing them to take back possession of the car for investigations. At least that should give some propriety of justice and adherence to the law.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Let's apply our collective brains to solve this problem.

Here is what I suggest - throw stones, throw the wheel spanner at the car's windscreen so that it breaks and the individual can atleast avoid asphyxiation (for a min or 2 more, if nothing else).

Surely there is something doable.

That said - how explosively does a car burn? Does it just burn like wood (i.e intensely but not with explosion).

I ask because if cars dont "explode" just like that, then it makes all the more sense for us to try for that one or two minute more to save the other person whose stuck in a burning car? or am I wrong?

Let's discuss.

EDIT: something I was once taught by the Defensive Driving instructors (Hubert Ebner) is that in the event of being stuck inside a stalled car with flood waters rising - you put your legs on the dashboard and feet on the windscreen. He said that if one kicks hard enough, the windscreen can come out. IF that is feasible, then escaping a burning car (as long as inside compartment is not majorly on fire) is not tough at all. What say?

I saw an 800 burn in front of ansal plaza.
It does burn something fierce.
Some flames werent even going up, but parallel to the ground, as if being fed out from a flamethrower!
quite wild.
very hot.

No-one was in that 800, luckily, but I am sure that unless it is drilled into the heads of car users in army style, it would be very hard to apply everything you read on how-to-react in such a situation.
Sheer panic would take over a majority of the people, and does, I am sure.

But I agree, a stone thrown to break a window, could probably help a trapped person regain enough of his senses to struggle.
Not being able to breath plus an enclosed place, QUITE panic inducing, I know from 1st hand experience.

But i will take this away from here, to go for the glass if i ever spot someone in trouble.

[GTO]

Guys,

All posts on the Vento Fire incident have been moved to this new independent thread. Yes, we do have a common thread on "vehicles catching fire in India", but here, the owner has unfortunately passed away. God bless his soul and give his family the strength to see through these trying times.

I strongly recommend that the Police conduct an independent inquiry in this case using the help of forensic experts. The fault needs to be brought to the public's notice, whether its of VW, the car or an after-market accessory.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Brother if you read my post #190, it is in 1st person.

Good job antz.bin! I must commend your courage in taking the lead to rescue a life. I take my words back about the seatbelt cutting incident and accept that the rescue team broke the seat belt mount. Since you were present there, could you confirm if the rescue operation was made through the windscreen or through the driver side door? If someone plunged into the car through the windscreen and broke the seatbelt mount of a car on fire, it would be really difficult. Most theories are controversial and having a Vento in the family is making me wonder if the doors really locked up the owner while the fire started?

[AutoIndian]

This is an extremely sad news about the car owner passing away. May his soul rest in peace. Just couple of days back we were discussing @ this incident in our office & the important point that came forth was that it should mandatory to have a fire extinguisher in each car. This could well be a life saver in case of such incidents.

[wilful]

Very sad and shocking! My condolences to the bereaved family.
VW needs to answer and answer swiftly - and recall or rectify pronto.
I wonder what the reaction of the media would have been if it had been an Indian manufacturer's vehicle that had caught fire with loss of life!

[srishiva]

The car in flames does show that it happened from inside, somewhere in the front where the flames are at maximum height. I don't think it was the fuel tank. I dread to think what if there were other passengers.
Can an RTI be filed with the police to get the latest status on the investigation (if there was a case filed for un-natural death?)

[souravc]

I am sure that this is a duplicate post but since the thread has been moved I am re-posting . TBHP-ians who are on FB, lease post your views on the Volkswagen India facebook page . Lets not let this matter die down without VW coming clean on the the findings of their investigation which I hope would be able to pinpoint the cause .

There is also one more important thing that I would like to point out - its better to live a few lakhs poorer rather than trying to save while being seated inside. In case of a fire , first scoot and then try to douse it from outside. Personal safety first !

[mayankjha1806]

What a tragic incident, when the incident was reported no one though it would end up like this, yes the situation needs a outcry from everyone as someone just lost his life.

May the soul rest in peace.

I am more thinking of the next steps, in terms of VW/Police etc. Could the family sue VW for defective car, is that a possibility? or they just have to wait for the police report or investigation. It seems the car was taken by VW then how could police investigate?

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by souravc

The doors of a Vento never lock from the inside, its always unlocked for the occupants of the car . The locked situation is only applicable for those who are trying to open the door from the outside . In case of an accident situation the ECU senses an impact and unlocks the door so that it can be opened from the outside and the occupants can be rescued.

While the car catching fire is of extreme concern to al of us ( hope VW comes out with the complete truth ) , I don't believe the fact the doors locked for the driver or the seat belts jammed !

You beat me to this post.

Almost all cars that have accident sensors UNLOCK the doors, not lock them. Why would a car lock you in in the event of an accident???

[anujmishra]

OMG! No body should die like this horrible manner. May departed soul rest in piece.

Exact fault should have been come out. I suspect there would not be an aftermarket accessories as Vento is self sufficient car and hardly it requires anything other than windows film.

[Maverick79]

Originally Posted by nawalsingal

A sad update: The Vento owner( of the car that caught fire last week on FC Road, link here: Car bursts into flames in Pune; owner rescued), died today at 4 PM & happen to be my relative. From the facts gathered so far, the door & seat bolt got jammed & no, nothing to do with panic of driver. Even rescuers couldn't open the belts & doors & had to cut the seat belts to take that person out, thereby consuming precious time & aggravating the severity of the burns, ultimately resulting in the sad & untimely death. Shall VW clarify the exact cause of the fire & remedial measures.
P.S. Please suggest the way forward to deal with VW? Shall be going for the funeral tomorrow & share more details of the incident.

Just saw this update.
Deep Condolences for the family. May his soul Rest In Peace.

Its almost 2 days now, Hope VW has reacted/ responded in some or the other manner. If not pls do atleast now. Its a matter of Human Life!

Atleast come up with the exact reason of fire and admit if its their mistake. Moral responsibility . Atleast. As life can not be brought back now!

[amit_mechengg]

this is a very tragic incident with the owner passing away. everyone has dreams and one never expects that this should happen in his own car.

i 100% agree that VW should do a thorough analysis of what exactly went wrong. they have recently upgraded the music system. they need to check if that is culprit somewhere.

any short in the wires causes immediate fire in cars. i know this very well because i have experienced this. within micro mili seconds the wire burns if a positive touches body earth. while its burning the surrounding stuffs catch fire.

in the case of this vento its looking as if the fire was quite rapid and the flames are also emanting from inside.

with such a shock any owner will not be able to react quickly and remove seat belts etc.

i am suspecting that there was a short in body computer and this locked the door and failed other sensors and put everything on fire.

it is very foolish of police to handover the car to VW. till now they might have erased all evidences of causes.