[saket77]

Sad news. RIP.

Gives me a thought of installing a fire extinguisher in car. Which brands make such extinguishers specifically for cars? Also, the insides of the car can turn very hot when parked under the sun, more so in the summers. So, is it safe to have a pressurized container of extinguisher stored inside the car at all times? Do we stand a risk of having an explosion kind of due to such cans?

I think, a small hammer can be stored in the cabin area somewhere, like in the dashbox, under the carpet, etc. so that if the situation arises, it can be put to use to break the glasses and come out of the car safely. These days its practically difficult not to have central/ remote lock system in a car, both from the point of safety (from theft) & convenience.

regards,
Saket

[MotoNanu]

We have a gear lock that is used generally when we leave the car at parking for a longer time. It is something similar to one shown in the link below:
http://www.zigwheels.com/news-featur...ar-lock/9081/1

(Courtesy: ZigWheels)

The 'U' shaped lock can be detached completely and is solid enough to be used as a hammer in such extreme conditions.

RIP! The blame game of the agencies and neglect has resulted in the loss of life for a person. This will go as an entry into one of the files and shall be lost for ever!

[asr245]

As usual authorities playing the blame game. There might be an investigation and soon everyone will forget about it and life will go on as if nothing ever went wrong. Till the time we are too comfortable being "busy" and forgetting such issues, nothing will ever happen.

Originally Posted by saket77

Sad news. RIP.

Gives me a thought of installing a fire extinguisher in car. Which brands make such extinguishers specifically for cars? Also, the insides of the car can turn very hot when parked under the sun, more so in the summers. So, is it safe to have a pressurized container of extinguisher stored inside the car at all times? Do we stand a risk of having an explosion kind of due to such cans?

Not sure about fire extinguishers though I have seen such devices installed in some cabs. But I did keep a Cobra branded pepper spray in the dash of my WagonR (parking under the sun). One fine evening I came back to see the dash open. To my surprise, I found that the can had probably exploded leaving a mess and a strange odour behind.

Hammer sounds better.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by asr245

To my surprise, I found that the can had probably exploded leaving a mess and a strange odour behind.

Hammer sounds better.

Precisely the fear which comes to my mind storing fire extinguisher cans in cars. Even I have seen some extinguishers mounted on the pillars of cars, but had no luck of asking the owners about it or inspecting the cans.

With hammers, I think we need a pair of sharp scissors too for cutting the seat belts if they get jammed too. Keeping these things may look & sound funny but they can well be the difference between life & death in such horrific situations.

Thanks,
Saket

[sa_kiran]

The metal rods of headrest can be used to break the glass. Unfortunately the driver was not aware. As per the discussion on another thread, metal rods are for breaking the glass in case of emergencies. Also, I wonder how the doors got jammed in a Honda. The lock can be opened manually, at least in City, not sure about Civic.

[Schoudhury]

I fail to understand why we Indian always wait for something nasty to happen and then try to find a solution for the same.
Can't believe that the authorities are trying to find scape goats instead of first fixing the whole mess and make sure that things are in place how it is supposed to be .

In a car like Civic, does it not cut the power supply if there is any kind of fire or electrical issue .I think punto has this feature, not sure about other cars.

Is there no way to make sure that if something unfortunate like this happens the doors don't get jammed ?

[saket77]

Originally Posted by sa_kiran

The metal rods of headrest can be used to break the glass. Unfortunately the driver was not aware. As per the discussion on another thread, metal rods are for breaking the glass in case of emergencies. Also, I wonder how the doors got jammed in a Honda. The lock can be opened manually, at least in City, not sure about Civic.

Yes, they can be useful, but if the person is stuck with jammed seat belts, it may be difficult to get the headrests out. I would like to know that how the doors can get jammed due to central locking systems. I believe like in older cars like Zen, Indica, MS800, Alto, etc the doors can be forced open from inside even if the central/ remote lock is armed. What prevents that in modern cars like the Civic/ Vento etc.? A gripping handle/ lever to force open the lock?

Regards,
Saket

[venks]

Sad and scary news, RIP.

As usual passing the buck game has started between various agencies. Just sad that people responsible don't do their job properly and don't value human life. Finding it difficult to imagine a Honda engine, known for its reliability, getting caught in fire. Not sure about the exact situation that caused this mishap though. It would be a good idea to have a separate thread that talks about critical situations like these and what one should do help themselves/others.

[avisidhu]

Originally Posted by saket77

I think, a small hammer can be stored in the cabin area somewhere, like in the dashbox, under the carpet, etc. so that if the situation arises, it can be put to use to break the glasses and come out of the car safely.....

That is probably the best solution.
An important thing to be kept in mind is that whatever tool you have, it should be immediately accessible in case of any such emergency. Having something (fire hydrant for instance) at the back seat for instance, won't solve the purpose IMO.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by avisidhu

An important thing to be kept in mind is that whatever tool you have, it should be immediately accessible in case of any such emergency.

Yes, this is of utmost importance - to have the tools in reach. But keep in mind different situations like you might not reach to places if your seat belts have jammed. The car's dash box might not open if the impact on doors have intruded well inside upto the dashboard.

On the other hand, storing these items at a good place can be tricky. Even if kept under the carpets, tools can 'fly' anywhere (even outside) the car in case the car topples. Not to mention, these 'flying' tools can even hit the occupants of the car.

So, there's more to it.

Regards,
Saket

[aniketi]

Engineering failure !!! I must say this, not many will agree with me, but in my opinion its a engineering failure only. He must have tried hard to come out of the car after it caught fire. Why the hell doors didn't open? How come they got locked & couldn't open manually from inside? Honda should look into the case & find out why this happened in such a expensive car. Basic thing for me is that in case of emergency when electronic circuit fails, doors should be operated manually. If not, then its a fault in the car. Such cars should not be passed by RTO.

Feel really sad for the soul. RIP ...

[MotoNanu]

There is a safety regulation called as Functional Safety guideline in Automotive context. This applies to Electrical and Electronic Malfunction and is standardized under ISO26262.

The idea of this safety regulation was conceived exactly for such incidents. But unfortunately, the regulation is in effect only from 2011 onwards and am also not sure how an end user can be made aware of such compliance!

The underlying funda is that under any electric/ electronic malfunction, the systems (car) should guarantee a fail safe solution which ensures the occupants are not caused harm. Even before this standard, there was something called IEC61508 but not tailored for automotive domain.

Hope such incidents shall not repeat in future with the advent of such standards and disciplined adherence to the same.

In this particular case the fail safe solution could have been automatic release of doors on detection of fire/ hazard, fuel cut off to reduce the severity and so on.

[GTO]

While I agree that the authorities are to blame for faulty safety equipment, I'm equally concerned about why this particular Civic caught fire in the first place!

An inquiry must be initiated by Honda, as a responsible car manufacturer. How do we know if it wasn't due to a faulty part / wiring and whether its related to one of the many global recalls?

Whatever the findings, even if related to after-market accessories, it must be made public.

[KarthikK]

A Honda catching fire is news to me. My assumption is the owner probably messed around with the electricals by (ill)fitting some aftermarket accessories, which led to a fire. If that turns out to be the real cause, I find yet another reason to always buy the top end variant of whatever I buy in my budget for future purchases. Better to enjoy all bells and whistles with OEM factory fitting, rather than mess around later with the electricals and risk something so unpredictably fatal.

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

In a car like Civic, does it not cut the power supply if there is any kind of fire or electrical issue .I think punto has this feature, not sure about other cars.

Is there no way to make sure that if something unfortunate like this happens the doors don't get jammed ?

Supriyo, I think you are referring to the FPS in Fiats - Fire Prevention System. Normally that cuts off fuel supply and switches off the engine in the case of an unfortunate event. The central locking is supposed to automatically unlock all doors in case FPS kicks in, but in case it doesn't, we can manually unlock the doors anyway. FPS always refers to an accident / collision. I'm not sure whether it detects simple electrical wiring fire unrelated to accidents.

Here's a snapshot of the Fiat FPS system description from the owner's manual :


I'm not sure how Honda's system works, but ideally they will have something similar to auto-unlock the doors in case of a Fire. If it did have something like it and malfunctioned, at least the manual unlock lever should have worked. Sounds rather bizarre!

[speedsatya]

I always thought door locks can be opened manually ! Fire extinguishers may not help as the fire would always be from an area outside the passenger cell .

In case of cars which dont have split seats , having a hammer like the ones we see in volvo buses might help . Trying to break the windshield may not work ,it has to be the windows .

Maybe manufacturers can have a winder with a detachable handle like we see for elevators . Complete power failure , this can help roll the windows down .