FIRE !! it can happen to anyone. It happened to me !!

Today was a nice, sunny Southern day in the 70's ... so I decided to get my old 32 ROADSTER out and take a little attitude adjustment spin. I have owned this ROADSTER 30 years and it has never failed to brighten my day and improve my attitude after a little drive.

I left the house and headed out. A few miles from my home it just QUIT and I saw fire and smoke coming from the hood. I have a fire extinguisher so I jumped out and tried putting the fire out. Did not get it out. A friend came by and we got his fire extinguisher out and stopped the fire.











The fire department got there ... and then proceeded to flood the roasdster with their hoses. Their stuff has chemicals in it. They did more damage than the original fire.

I believe the needle and seat hung up and flooded the carb ... and overflowed ... starting the fire.

It is HURT pretty bad ...
But nothing that cannot be fixed.
IT will be fixed back

Now to deal with the insurance folks ...

All you HAMBERS ... make sure you have a fire extinguisher ... that works.

Randy

 

Wow, glad you got the stop on it...sorry also that your fire department sounds like a bunch of dolts...when it is out, we usually do not spray it more...

 

Thanks for getting out unhurt. Yes...you can fix her.

 

Wow Randy, that is a bummer. Good to see you saved the car. Pat

 

sorryabout the roadster, but glad your ok... I'm sure she will be all ok in time... Now that my 35 is back on the road..need to mount mine in the car... What carb were you running on the roadster ?

 

Bad news mate, although I'm happy to see you're OK and the roadster isn't too rooted. Sounds like your fire dept is using that foam concentrate: we banned it here because 3M couldn't guarantee it wasn't cancer-causing. No need to flood it if the fire's out: a little cooling is all that's needed.

 

That sucks, but glad you & yours are OK! She can (& will) be rebuilt!

 

Sorry to here that but I am glad you are O.K. There is an interesting article in the new Street Rodder about Speedway's Cold Fire suppression system. It works automatically and manually. Think I will re-read the article. $500.00 sounds cheap now.

 

glad your alright fix her and run her

 

Whoa, bummer Randy. I'm glad you're ok.

 

I am really sorry to hear about this, Randy.

Keep us posted on the progress... updates, and dealing with the insurance.

Do you have Haggerty?

If so, they are great to deal with.

I have personal experience... when someone ran into my Model A.

Sam

 

Man I hate to see that. I'm glad you weren't hurt,and the car can be fixed.

 

Glad youre ok man! Metal can be sanded and repainted, flesh cant!

 

Ouch! It hurts now, I'm sure, but she'll be back.

 

Glad your ok and your car isn't completely wasted.

 

Oh this is all to familiar, happened to me back in December.
I feel your pain. Glad you are OK the roadster is fixable, sucks but fixable. Beautiful car, hope you get it back up and running soon. Gary

 

As an Ex Firey I can tell you I used to get very annoyed (would like to use stonger words but best not) about other Firemen that had no care about property and used to cut locks, damage door hinges, bonnets / hoods, boots etc. when it was not needed and the response would be "Is it insured ? then what do you care we put the fire out." Sometimes a little care can mean a save or an insurance write off.

Still you are ok and the car looks like it can be repaired.

 

The fire was already out when the fire dept got there and they spayed chemicals on it anyway? WTF !

 

glad you are okay!

 

I agree that they may not have had to put water on the fire. Our procedure is to disconnect the battery (we usually just cut the cables) and then we use a thermal imaging camera to locate heat. We also use class b foam on vehicle fires. The foam is washed off easily with water. You did good saving yourself and unbelievable saving the car.

I know halon is a thing if the past and is being phased out for health reasons but I would like to put a system on my car I am building now for that extra security.

 

Randy -

I was really afraid to open this thread ... but was relieved to read that you are okay and that your roadster can be fixed.

Scary stuff! ... A "wake-up call" that I shouldn't even consider taking the coupe for a drive again until I get its fire extinguisher inspected/tested/recharged!

 

I have a separate battery cut off switch and TOLD the Fireman the battery was off ... and everything was OK ... but it fell on deaf ears.

I have GRUNDY and will call them in the morning. They have a good reputation and I am going to find out if it is warranted or not.

Randy

 

Wow, that sucks. Yours is one of the cars I most associate with the HAMB.

 

Glad you're OK Randy. Wayno

 

That is unfortunate and this is the second auto fire I have read about this week on the Hamb. Do you know what caused this or how it could be prevented?

 

Sorry about your car. Goes to show how the best of everything sometimes breaks. Glad you saved the beautiful car. Think I'll buy a bigger bottle just in case.

 

That's just unprofessional if the fire was out. Not sure how it works over there but over here any additional damage eg water damage, forcible entry etc is deemed to have been done by fire for insurance purposes. Make sure all the supplementary damage is fixed in your claim

You are right, we don't use 3M foam but we do use Kidde.

Our procedure is very similar but I will rarely call for B class foam on a vehicle fire unless we have running fuel. Water is fine.


Very disturbing to see so many HAMB cars being involved in fires. It freaks me out a bit.

 

Randy, Glad you're okay I know you'll bring her back better than ever, good luck with the insurance co.

 

Glad you are OK and the car is very repairable. I had an electrical fire in the engine compartment of my 54 Buick last summer while parked at a gas station. That was pretty hairy and I'm lucky that the car didn't get destroyed. It made me very wary of potential wiring issues.

 

THAT SUCKS!! Positive thing is , you are OK and the Roadster can and will be saved!! Have had fires from 348/409 days and less not forget the old 94s and 97s!! Been fortunate since.. Sometimes, the fire ext is our best friend!! Good Luck with ins, I never won totally, just partially. Here in Arizona, the additives they put in our fuel does strange things to carbs and fuel pumps, in particular if the are not started often. I use STA BIL in mine, helps but doesnt cure. Most auto parts stores here wont warrenty them. We all know it will be back on the road soon!! Best of luck!!