By Staff Reporter
PHALABORWA-A vehicle was seen engulfed by a fire on R71 Phalaborwa near Nguluvhe Lodge today, 26 September early in the morning.
Fire and Rescue services were called on the scene to extinguish the fire before it could spread
Motorists who saw the incident said they couldn’t stop because they feared the car could explode.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage but the fire started from the front of the vehicle and escalated to the rest of the car.
EMS shared safety measures to take when your vehicle catches fire:
- Stay as calm as you can. The worst possible thing that you can do is panic.
- Panic will cause you to waste precious seconds and make mistakes that could end up being tragic.
- If the vehicle is moving, signal and move to the side of the road.
- Fire feeds off oxygen and even slow forward motion will force air into the engine compartment, basically stoking the fire.
- Pulling to the side makes it possible for everyone to get out of the vehicle safely.
- Turn off the ignition to shut off the electric current and stop the flow of gasoline.
- Put the vehicle in park or set the emergency brake; you don’t want the vehicle to move after you leave it.
- Make sure everyone gets out of the vehicle, but do not waste time and increase your risk by removing personal belongings.
- Move at least 100 feet away. Keep traffic in mind and keep everyone together. There is not only danger from the fire but also from other vehicles moving in the area.
