Watch out! Your car can catch fire

Don't blame it on the heat. Poormaintenance and negligence on part of drivers is leading to an increase innumber of cars catching fire

The sweltering heat has taken a toll on cars in the city. Cases of cars catching fire have witnessed a rise with the increasing heat in April.

As per data provided by the control room of Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES), with the rising temperature, there has been an increase in the number of cars catching fire. Twelve such cases have been recorded so far this month, while 34 car fire cases have been recorded since April. In the past, the fire department has recorded more than 100 car burning cases in summer.

Compared to 16 cases reported in April last year, this year 22 cases were reported.

On May 8, 10 minutes past 11 pm, Tejasbhai Parmar was driving his vehicle near municipal corporation road when his car caught fire. Fortunately, he got out of the car in the nick of time.“I called the fire department to douse the fire. It was later discovered that heat had caused short circuit in the engine that led to the fire. I had been driving for long which had heated up the car,“ said Parmar.

Just recently another car on the national highway of Ahmedabad-Mumbai caught fire following overuse of AC which heated the battery and caused the fire.

TAKE GOOD CARE OF CAR

Fire department blames poor maintenance of vehicles and negligence as the cause of high cases of car fire incidents in summer.

“Certainly there has been an increase in such cases in summer. If not directly, the negligence of car owners is found to be the common cause for such accidents,“ said Rajesh Bhatt, additional chief fire officer at AFES.

Such incidents are seen more in four-wheelers especially in passenger buses, goods carriages and old cars.

CAUSES OF FIRE

Most fires in AC and non-AC cars are caused due to short circuit. “Faulty insulation wire makes the metal of the car hotter in summer raising the battery temperature. Since the fuel pipe remains close to the battery, it leads to short circuit,“ said Bhatt.

Due to their carelessness, people don't notice when oil pipe starts leaking. This is highly inflammable in summer and can catch fire faster, he informed.Another reason for such accidents is the use of spurious parts in the fuel injection system and engine. “Unqualified mechanics use faulty engine parts that further fuels the problem,“ said Bhatt.

Many people install extra accessories like music players, lights, chargers and others in their cars. But don't realise that these can also ignite fire in their car. “While fitting these items, they cut the main wire to fit the electronics. If not done properly, any loose connection can trigger fire when temperature soars,“ the fire officer said.

Most new cars have basic amenities. Yet when people attach additional gadgets, they should always get it done from qualified mechanics.

“Also, people don't follow AC manual properly in cars. When a person sits in a car, heshe should switch it in fan mode for few minutes, then gradually increase the cooling of the AC.When they don't follow these basic rules, the car compressor gets heated up which leads to fatal accidents,“ Bhatt said.

To avoid car fire, get your car serviced regularly especially when it gets old.