Car Bursts Into Flames on Delhi Road (16 Jun 2011)

[Vishwas]

A civic catching fire is really a devastating news, hope he did not install CNG kit in his car.

Being an international and country's biggest airport, this is the way the govt. maintains the fire issues

I have a doubt here friends, if the doors are jammed, he can still roll down the windows or break one them to come out.

I think the power windows also won't work, and its not that easy to come out of that situation for we do not know how to react to it.

 

[smooth rider]

sad to hear about the tragic loss of life. fire hydrants any where i have seen don't work ( here in incredible india ). the fire hydrants in the hospital where i work don't work. i wrote to the authorities about it and they bought few hand held extinguishers and placed it here and there. god knows how many will be killed if a fire breaks out in our hospital. if ones car catches fire hope some onlookers will break the glass for us to jump out. aren't there any mechanism where in the autolocking mechanisms opens by itself in case of any accident / fire. in my vento even if the door is locked it can be opened from the inside.

 

[autosafari]

aren't there any mechanism where in the autolocking mechanisms opens by itself in case of any accident / fire. in my vento even if the door is locked it can be opened from the inside.

Generally in most of the cars, we can open the doors from inside even if the doors are locked.

In case of fire, these electronic systems may not work properly. Last year in Pune, when a VW Vento caught fire, the person driving the car could not come out because seat belt got jammed and then doors also. People broke the windows from outside and pulled him out. By that he was seiously injured by burns and later died in the hospital.

 

[Gurrala74]

@Safari

That was really sad to note that, I always feel that however we go advanced with technology, the threat will multiply always.

 

[anshuman8]

A very sad incident, may his soul RIP.

But it is very strange that why the passer by people did you break open the car to get the man out? I understand it is difficult in panic situations but 20 minutes is a lot of time.

 

[freakdude]

32 year old man dies in burning car!!

A 32-year-old man was charred to death inside his Honda Civic after its engine caught fire and the central locking system jammed the doors, trapping Rajesh Kumar Misra inside the vehicle.
Misra died of 100 per cent burns, despite the fact that the 200-metre-long Indira Gandhi International Airport underpass has eight fire fighting devices along each carriageway.

But on Sunday, at 5.45 pm when the car went up in flames, none of the equipment was working.

Misra remained trapped inside the burning car for 20 minutes and his cries for help drew the attention of passersby and the guard on duty, who tried to use the fire fighting equipment to save Misra's life.

The guard pulled out the pipe attached to the fire fighting device, but found that there was no water pressure.

An eyewitness said, "The engine of that car caught fire and it went up in flames in no time. We could hear the occupant shouting for help. He was trapped inside as the doors jammed due to the central locking system. My brother and I tried to pull out the pipe from the device installed in the underpass to put out the fire, but we did not know how to operate it. The guard who was posted also came running and opened the lever, but there was no water pressure. None of the devices were working."

The underpass has three water pumps, which supply water to 16 fire fighting devices — eight on each carriageway. But none is operational. The fire hydrants lack a notice informing about directions on how to use the fire fighting device. This makes it difficult for a layman to use the equipment in an emergency situation.

When contacted, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the agency that maintains the underpass, shifted the blame to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the contracting agency that constructed the underpass.

DIAL said it repeatedly flagged the problem to the agency, but nothing was done.

A DIAL spokesperson said, "The underpass was handed over to us unfinished by DMRC. The fire fighting devices have not been functional since the underpass was handed over to us in 2011. We have written to DMRC innumerable times, but have not got any response."

He said in the case reported on Sunday, DIAL had to send fire engines used for fighting aircraft fires to the spot, but it was too late by then.

DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said the underpass was handed over to DIAL in 2011 and the liability period for its maintenance was over. He said now it was the responsibility of DIAL to ensure that everything was in place.

"Contractually there is no fault of DMRC if the fire fighting devices are not functional. Two months ago, DIAL had written to us and, as a goodwill gesture, we conducted a joint inspection. Then it was found that two of three pumps were functional and the switch of the third pump had some problem. We then had asked DIAL to get the switch fixed and also told them to get it billed in the name of DMRC. But that was never done."

Fire Chief A K Sharma said the equipment are necessary for tunnels of a specified length. All underpasses do not need to have fire safety devices. "In this case, the maintenance agency is responsible for the lapse. The Fire department had sent the fire tenders when they received a call," he said.

Not one of eight fire hydrants work, man dies in burning car - Indian Express

 

[allhyundaicars]

Re: 32 year old man dies in burning car!!

A 32-year-old man was charred to death inside his Honda Civic after its engine cau
Not one of eight fire hydrants work, man dies in burning car - Indian Express

we are talking about the same incident

 

[freakdude]

Re: 32 year old man dies in burning car!!

we are talking about the same incident

Know that buddy!!! Actually I had started a new thread after searching "fire" "civic fire" and so, didn't got anything so created a new one. Mods have merged the threads.

It was really sad to see such a reliable car go up in flames. I always wonder, how soon the fire would have spread in such cases so that the occupants didn't get time to get out.

 

[Rightnow]

Re: 32 year old man dies in burning car!!

It was really sad to see such a reliable car go up in flames. I always wonder, how soon the fire would have spread in such cases so that the occupants didn't get time to get out.

And the way cars catch fire is almost similar in many cases- fire from inside bonnet, seatbelts getting jammed due to melting of holders, autolock malfunction. Still, manufacturers have not been able to develop a crack to avoid these incidents.

 

[swift&furious]

I have seen people smoke inside the car though it being run on gas

When incidents like this happen it just made me recollect the incident i had seen few days back at a signal, an LPG run omni with 2 brainless morons smoking in it. The worst part is he doesn't risk himself but also risks the life of the by standers waiting at the signal close to him

But skipping all this, I pray for the departed soul, RIP

 

[sukanta]

A bit of OT
but do you guys know that the maximum permissible limit for evacuate a plane? it just 90 secs. If a Big Boeing can be evacuated within 90 sec, surely every emergency can be handled. But all its required is the knowhow and a little bit of practice.
By the way coming to the topic, if any of you guys ever find yourself in the same situation (really praying the no body really go through this), please recollect this below points
1. Your/occupants life is more valuable than anything else, Forgot the car, Forgot anything in the car, your main goal is to came out safely
2. If you find electricals are not working, Remember pushing the button again and again won't help you. it is just took away precious sec from you. Try opening the door/ window by normal way for 2 times. If it is not working. read on
3. Front and rear windscreen are reinforced laminated glass, It is IMPOSSIBLE to break that without any tool. DONOT try to break windscreen.
4. pick the head rest (from driver/front passenger seat), if you ever open up those fully, you would have noticed that that has a very sharp pointed edge.
5. Wrap you eyes with any cotton (hancy/ or waste t shirt you tuck away for quick cleaning) , if not available, put shield with one hand and bang the sharp edge of the headrest to the window glass, it should break, if not try again and again
6. now remove your tshirt/ shirt (what ever you are wearing) and place that over the base of the windows (there must be lots of sharp edges) and came out it the flipped way. (facing your car, this way you can support yourself on the roof of the car)
7. Practice once to came out by windows on a cool day. (it is EASY).

RIP to the poor soul, this is the most barbaric way some can die, and hope someday Indian DL system include those emergency todo list.

 

[smooth rider]

sukanta thank you for the tip regarding the head rest, its the most easily available handy tool in such an emergency.
i had once seen a guy keeping a lighted agar batti in a car that was being filled with LPG from a domestic cylinder & his logic - he can't stand the smell of cooking LPG thats usually present after filling.

 

[racerdabba]

This is the umpteenth time im hearing doors locked up. Central Locking failed thing.

Why is it so hard for manufacturers to give old style manually unlockable doors like lower range cars? Why do we have to have electronic locks and door wont unlock unless river presses some button? What happened to the mechanical lever?

There are so many instances of so called electronic Safety devices taking lives.

May his Soul Rest In Peace.

 

[sukanta]

This is the umpteenth time im hearing doors locked up. Central Locking failed thing.

Why is it so hard for manufacturers to give old style manually unlockable doors like lower range cars? Why do we have to have electronic locks and door wont unlock unless river presses some button? What happened to the mechanical lever?

There are so many instances of so called electronic Safety devices taking lives.

May his Soul Rest In Peace.

you want thousands of features (door get locked after certain speed.. blah blah.. , Now even high end cars are coming with auto closing sunroof/ windows in the event of collisions) Do you think all of this possible with mech lever? even with mech lever, the plastic part will melt and jam it... It is an unfortunate truth of modern car, a thousand no of chips monitoring everything, and shutting off the battery can lead to lot of disturbance.
Actually mech window roller is also something, that could help, but asking for that...

 

[S Class]

Why don't any babu or minister dies this way ?? It will be nice to see concerned officer/minister also dying same way.