Opel Corsa on fire

katalyst · 21st March 2007, 00:22

Bro had gone out for a formal dinner with his driver in his 5 and a half year old Opel Corsa Sail. 10 minutes into the dinner - he gets a call from the driver - "the car is on fire!".

When he reached the scene - the car was burning away to glory.. finally COMPLETELY gutted.. no tyres... bodywork completely melted and charred. There is nothing left of the car. Cops, fire brigade, a huge crowd to watch the show - the entire circus.

This happened just an hour back here in hyderabad. We don't know the reason for the fire yet. A police report was lodged immediatly.

The car was extremely well maintained and in good shape. It's extremely worrysome that the car seemingly spontanesouly combusted.

icemanz · 21st March 2007, 00:51

What story did the drive had to offer? He might have been along side the vehicle I guess!!
Did the driver report any kind of leaks from the vehicle? Where was the vehicle parked before the incident?

These are some of the questions you should seek answers to from the driver to learn how the vehicle caught fire.

maxbhp · 21st March 2007, 08:13

Have you done any ICE set up recently or Did you change the OE batteries of the car . If Yes , there is chance of SC. Am not an expert so its just my two cents of knowledge.

navdeep · 21st March 2007, 08:26

any pictures of the incident ...

ajitkommini · 21st March 2007, 11:11

I've seen this happen twice in bangalore - once with a Maruti 800 and another time with an ikon. It starts off with smoke from under the hood (looks like a case of overheating but much denser). Once the hapless driver parks and opens the hood there are flames and thick smoke all over the place. Scary stuff!

manikjeet · 21st March 2007, 11:15

Any pics man they will help and do they police suspect arsinal???

shuvd · 21st March 2007, 11:37

Sorry about the car katalyst. But glad no one got hurt. Did you have LPG/CNG fitted? Even then, a parked car (with ignition off) shouldn't catch fire. What do the GM guys say? And the insurance people? This is really scary. I'm getting a "Cease Fire" for my car today.

benbsb29 · 21st March 2007, 11:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by manikjeet

Any pics man they will help and do they police suspect arsinal???

Arsinal?? Arsenal club?
I believe what you meant here was arson.

suren181 · 21st March 2007, 12:17

Sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident, however thank god it happened when all were away from the car and saw it all happen from a distance.

katalyst · 21st March 2007, 12:25

The car was in motion when it caught fire - it was on the road, the driver was in the car.

No ICE setup - default OEM stuff. No LPG. Brand new tyres and 1000 bucks worth of petrol.

It DID start with smoke and flames under the hood. All this happened bang in the middle of the road - somewhere close to Karvy / Rainbow Hospital.

The cops and people tried to put the fire out - but the more water they put on the car the more it burnt...

A bizarre experience

navin · 21st March 2007, 12:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by katalyst

The car was in motion when it caught fire - it was on the road, the driver was in the car.

This happened to my wife's sail (1.6) too. Only in her case the driver stopped teh car and my wife and son took a rickshaw home and called me. I called a mechanic and he noticed that the wire from the alternator to the battery had burnt. On closer inspection we realised that the alternator winding itself had burnt and had the driver and my wife not been vigilant it could have got worse.

Needless to say we changed the wiring and alternator.

shuvd · 21st March 2007, 14:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by katalyst

The cops and people tried to put the fire out - but the more water they put on the car the more it burnt...

A bizarre experience

Why would people try to putout a car fire with water?

rishibravo · 21st March 2007, 14:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by katalyst

The cops and people tried to put the fire out - but the more water they put on the car the more it burnt...

A bizarre experience

This seems like the clear case of electric fire , but is truly unfortunate. I hope getting insurance money wont be a problem since there were a lot of onlookers and the presence of police will definitely help

agspins · 21st March 2007, 15:10

dats pretty weird man..where did it happened ...any pics

navin · 21st March 2007, 15:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by agspins

dats pretty weird man..where did it happened ...any pics

When your car has a tank full of fuel and is on fire the last thing on your mind is taking a picture. All you ought to do is gt as far away from it as possible.

21st March 2007, 00:22	#1
katalyst BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Hyderabad as of now Posts: 38 Thanked: 0 Times	Opel Corsa on fire Bro had gone out for a formal dinner with his driver in his 5 and a half year old Opel Corsa Sail. 10 minutes into the dinner - he gets a call from the driver - "the car is on fire!". When he reached the scene - the car was burning away to glory.. finally COMPLETELY gutted.. no tyres... bodywork completely melted and charred. There is nothing left of the car. Cops, fire brigade, a huge crowd to watch the show - the entire circus. This happened just an hour back here in hyderabad. We don't know the reason for the fire yet. A police report was lodged immediatly. The car was extremely well maintained and in good shape. It's extremely worrysome that the car seemingly spontanesouly combusted.
	() Thanks

21st March 2007, 00:51	#2
icemanz BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: cochin Posts: 94 Thanked: Once View My Garage	What story did the drive had to offer? He might have been along side the vehicle I guess!! Did the driver report any kind of leaks from the vehicle? Where was the vehicle parked before the incident? These are some of the questions you should seek answers to from the driver to learn how the vehicle caught fire.
	() Thanks

21st March 2007, 08:13	#3
maxbhp Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: C C K Posts: 1,382 Thanked: 89 Times View My Garage	Have you done any ICE set up recently or Did you change the OE batteries of the car . If Yes , there is chance of SC. Am not an expert so its just my two cents of knowledge.
	() Thanks

21st March 2007, 08:26	#4
navdeep BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 892 Thanked: 4 Times	any pictures of the incident ...
	() Thanks

21st March 2007, 11:11	#5
ajitkommini BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 490 Thanked: 124 Times	I've seen this happen twice in bangalore - once with a Maruti 800 and another time with an ikon. It starts off with smoke from under the hood (looks like a case of overheating but much denser). Once the hapless driver parks and opens the hood there are flames and thick smoke all over the place. Scary stuff!
	() Thanks

21st March 2007, 11:15	#6
manikjeet Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: chandigarh Posts: 1,618 Thanked: 295 Times View My Garage	Any pics man they will help and do they police suspect arsinal???
	() Thanks

21st March 2007, 11:37	#7
shuvd Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 1,081 Thanked: 7 Times View My Garage	Sorry about the car katalyst. But glad no one got hurt. Did you have LPG/CNG fitted? Even then, a parked car (with ignition off) shouldn't catch fire. What do the GM guys say? And the insurance people? This is really scary. I'm getting a "Cease Fire" for my car today.
	() Thanks

21st March 2007, 12:17	#9
suren181 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 850 Thanked: 11 Times View My Garage	Sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident, however thank god it happened when all were away from the car and saw it all happen from a distance.
	() Thanks

21st March 2007, 12:25	#10
katalyst BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Hyderabad as of now Posts: 38 Thanked: 0 Times	The car was in motion when it caught fire - it was on the road, the driver was in the car. No ICE setup - default OEM stuff. No LPG. Brand new tyres and 1000 bucks worth of petrol. It DID start with smoke and flames under the hood. All this happened bang in the middle of the road - somewhere close to Karvy / Rainbow Hospital. The cops and people tried to put the fire out - but the more water they put on the car the more it burnt... A bizarre experience
	() Thanks

21st March 2007, 15:10	#14
agspins Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MH-31 Posts: 1,653 Thanked: 508 Times View My Garage	dats pretty weird man..where did it happened ...any pics
	() Thanks