[JS Kwt]

Originally Posted by Turbopetrol

Source:
BENGALURU: A 30-year-old homemaker and her four-year-old son were burnt alive in their Maruti Ritz car that mysteriously caught fire in the basement of their apartment complex late Friday afternoon in Whitefield area of southeast Bengaluru.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/62759658.cms

Originally Posted by raaj.bhalla

Very unfortunate. I got to know of it last night itself as the lady who died in this tragic accident was friend of my wife. They were MBA batch mates and worked together for sometime.

Originally Posted by arjithin

Two more photos received via whatsapp

Year after car blaze, 5 Maruti staffers chargesheeted

The chargesheet, which was filed by Whitefield police on Wednesday, has also charged eight technical personnel of Kalyani Motors service station in Kundalahalli, where the car was last serviced, with negligence and causing the blaze.

The 13 accused have been booked under IPC Section 304 A (causing death due to negligence), citing forensic reports, witness statements and investigation findings.

On February 2, 2018, Neha Verma and her toddler son, Param, were found dead inside the car that accidentally caught fire in the basement parking lot of an apartment in Whitefield. Neha’s husband and startup entrepreneur Rajesh Ghatanatti filed a police complaint alleging negligence by staff of Kalyani Motors, Kundalahalli, in servicing his wife’s vehicle that resulted in the fire.

According to the chargesheet, the car was manufactured in 2010 in Maruti Suzuki India’s Gurugram factory. Because of a short circuit in the faulty power window, the plastic cover of the door panel caught fire, which spread.

“Accused 1 to 5 who were employed in the manufacturing unit didn’t take adequate safety measures regarding the spares and power window and due to this, there was a short circuit in the car eight years later,” it read.

According to the forensic findings, the hand brake was on. “On careful observation, it was found that the front portion of the car was burnt the most. The engine, circuit box, control unit, relays, fuse box and battery were fully burnt. All window glasses were burnt too,” said the report.

The burn injuries on the bodies revealed they were exposed to high temperature for lone, as a result of which they were burnt beyond recognition.

Full Article

[TusharK]

Five Maruti Suzuki officials have been chargesheeted for the Maruti Ritz fire that claimed two lives in Bangalore last year.

Eight technicians of Kalyani Motors service station in Kundalahalli, where the car was last serviced, have also been named in the chargesheet. All 13 accused have been booked under IPC Section 304 A for causing death due to negligence.



The chargesheet states that the fire was caused by a short circuit in the faulty power window. The plastic door panel then caught fire, which then spread to the engine, circuit box, control unit, relays, fuse box, battery and gutted the windows. The forensic report suggests that the hand brake was on and the front portion of the vehicle was burnt the most. The Ritz was manufactured in 2010 and according to the chargesheet, the five Maruti Suzuki officials didn't take sufficient safety measures regarding the spares and the power window leading to a fire 8 years later.

On February 2, 2018, Neha Verma and her child were seen driving the car into the basement parking lot. Hearing a blast, the security guards rushed to the spot to find the car ablaze.

The husband of the deceased had filed a complaint with the police alleging negligence by the staff of the service station, which resulted in the fire.

Source: Economic Times

Link to Team-BHP News

[Jeroen]

A very sad story obviously.

What I do not understand: If the fire started with a short circuit in the power window, how come these poor people did not manage to get out. Sure, fire spreads quickly. But I find it difficult to imagine that something that starts in a door, setting plastic alight (which burns slowly) can spread so quickly to cause this horrific disaster.

Why did the fuse to the power window not blow? To get plastic to melt and start burning you need quite a bit of heat, that means lots of current.

Be interesting to hear how they managed to pinpoint the fire starting this way. Not sure how they do that on an almost completely charred vehicle.

I am also not sure why 8 technicians of the service station were charged? Did they all work on this car? Unless there was some problem reported with the power windows, nobody would open up a door panel due normal routine servicing or repair work.

It might be a design/manufacturing issue.

Again, just very sad for the family involved.

Jeroen

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

What I do not understand: If the fire started with a short circuit in the power window, how come these poor people did not manage to get out. Sure, fire spreads quickly. But I find it difficult to imagine that something that starts in a door, setting plastic alight (which burns slowly) can spread so quickly to cause this horrific disaster.

There is some connection between short circuit, fire and central locking system. That is, the door does not open. Example:
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/cent...gujarat-399073

I am also not sure why 8 technicians of the service station were charged? Did they all work on this car? Unless there was some problem reported with the power windows, nobody would open up a door panel due normal routine servicing or repair work.

Correct. Unless the owner got power windows wiring/switch replaced during the last service. If service advisors and technicians never touched the power windows, the case against them is likely to be thrown out by the Judge.

[abhishek46]

Central locking systems (especially after market units) are known to fail in case of short circuits, fire etc.

It is highly recommended that a small 'car' hammer be placed in the car securely, and all occupants should be 'educated' about it's use.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

I own a facelift Ford EcoSport where the doors can be opened from the inside even when its locked. Maybe such a mechanism will help in case of a short-circuit, fire or flood. Not sure how it works in other cars.

Originally Posted by SmartCat

There is some connection between short circuit, fire and central locking system. That is, the door does not open.

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

A very sad story obviously.

What I do not understand: If the fire started with a short circuit in the power window, how come these poor people did not manage to get out.

Well this is what the ET report says.

"After the car came to a halt, there must have been a blast and fire, accompanied by a sudden gush of fumes, said the FSL report. Hence the victims could have lost consciousness and were unable to open the door"

However is it possible that the blast was so big that it knocked out the mother and child and rendered them unconscious? It could have been that the fire started when she was driving back and when she entered the basement, it just blew!

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by sumathindra

Well this is what the ET report says.

"After the car came to a halt, there must have been a blast and fire, accompanied by a sudden gush of fumes, said the FSL report. Hence the victims could have lost consciousness and were unable to open the door"

However is it possible that the blast was so big that it knocked out the mother and child and rendered them unconscious? It could have been that the fire started when she was driving back and when she entered the basement, it just blew!

For a blast to occur you need more than a bit of plastic catching fire. You need to have an explosive mixture. I do not see that happening inside the door. On cars you will only get a blast if the fuel starts evaporating, and there is sufficient heat and spark to cause it to explode the air/fuel mixture.

It would be difficult to imagine how you would get a sudden gush of fumes too. That typically happens when you expose a smouldering fire to a lot of fresh air. E.g. by opening a door.

I am no expert on fires, but this story just does not add up at all.

Look at that burnt out wreck, how can you tell anything from that, other than everything is completely and utterly burned and melted.

Jeroen

[puntOOs]

Does anyone know a good tool to break out of the car in such emergencies? I saw a few contraptions on Amazon but not sure of what works.

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I am no expert on fires, but this story just does not add up at all. Look at that burnt out wreck, how can you tell anything from that, other than everything is completely and utterly burned and melted.
Jeroen

Precisely, it just does not add up. The other thing I was wondering is how come nobody including the security came to rescue unless the car was totally engulfed in fire. Looks like its one of those mysteries that will remain unsolved!

I hope the cops have ruled out foul play.

[BlackPearl]

Very sad incident. This seems to be a case of covering up a bigger problem by finding a few scapegoats and pressing charges against them. Sorry for being pessimistic, but as others are saying, things are not adding up.

[sreedotk]

Originally Posted by puntOOs

Does anyone know a good tool to break out of the car in such emergencies? I saw a few contraptions on Amazon but not sure of what works.

Off topic from whats being discussed. But in case of such an emergency and your car has removable headrests, then remove one of the head rest and use the pointy end to break the windows.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by puntOOs

Does anyone know a good tool to break out of the car in such emergencies? I saw a few contraptions on Amazon but not sure of what works.

These are commonly used. In fact our lease company provides these, or similar to all the cars we lease from them as standard. They are effective.

Some of these also, have a safety knife embedded so you can cut through safety belts too.

Jeroen

[JoshMachine]

Not sure about how a blast can occur in this situation, but on the unfortunate scenario of the mother and the child getting trapped in the car - possible explanation could be that the doors were still in locked condition (because of the auto-lock feature when the car ignition is still ON) when they returned to the parking lot.

And the fuse may have been blown off due to heat or fire, resulting in the doors remaining stuck or locked.

What happened next, seems a matter of conjecture (as mentioned by all here) as it is very difficult to trace a blast or huge fire engulfing the plastic parts so quickly.

Alas, all this in vain for the deceased's family. They must be in a state of irreparable shock.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by puntOOs

Does anyone know a good tool to break out of the car in such emergencies? I saw a few contraptions on Amazon but not sure of what works.

Here's a suggestion - https://www.amazon.in/Resqme-01-100-...gateway&sr=8-2

I have one of these attached to my car's key chain at all times. It can easily be pulled off its holder in an emergency. Other than this there are wrenches which also double up as seat belt cutters and glass hammers. I got one made by Michelin but it isn't available now.

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1