Cleveland Fire Department personnel responded to nine calls of passenger vehicle fires in September and October. As cooler weather accounts for increases in reports of house fires, the same is true for vehicle fires. Some reports are the result of hot exhaust mixing with cooler ambient air, which causes heavier vapor clouds than in warmer months. Most reports, however, come after a radiator overheats and people mistake steam rising from under the hood as smoke.
Of the four responses in September, one was an actual fire and of the five in October, one was a vehicle fire based on the estimated property loss of $18,300 and $21,000.
CFD Training Captain Pete Van Dusen said that in the event of an actual vehicle fire, firefighters must be aware of the smallest details ranging from where to park fire trucks to protecting themselves from hazardous fumes from burning plastics used in modern vehicle construction.
He said it has not happened in Cleveland, but there have been reports of brakes in a burning car giving way and rolling into a fire truck.
A relatively new concern in combating vehicle fires is that more and more gas tanks are made of plastic materials as manufacturers strive for lighter vehicles and better gas mileages, he said.
"The cars don't blow up and pieces don't go flying all over like in the movies, but the gas tanks can suffer catastrophic failure and then you can have 20 gallons of gasoline spreading out on the ground," said Captain Van Dusen. "In that case, you have to use foam to extinguish the fire instead of water. If water alone is used, the burning fuel will float on the water resulting in a rapid fire spread."
The training captain said other concerns are not knowing what's inside vehicles. There could be aerosol cans, rolling meth labs or anything else imaginable that could be harmful to the public and to firefighters themselves.
As is normally the case, fire runs accounted for the fewest number of calls (21) in October, but amounted to the highest cost to property at an estimated $38,500 with $21,000 coming from the passenger vehicle fire.
The Cleveland Fire Department responded to 144 rescue and emergency medical service calls, which accounted for most of the activity for the month.