Something's burning, and I think it's ...

[Cody Forbes]

Brett Dikeman wrote:
> NEVER open the hood on a car fire unless you know what you are doing.
> Opening the hood, or even just popping it with the release, is enough
> to introduce a big gulp of fresh oxygen, and can release a big
> belching fireball.  It is somewhat similar to backdrafts; especially
> on newer cars, the engine compartments are pretty closed spaces.
> Tight body panel seams, lots of rubber seals, underbody trays,
> everything is compact and tight, etc.  The sealed up nature also makes
> getting extinguishing agents in very difficult- you can certainly
> forget chemical units unless you have direct access.


^ I'm with stupid ;-). Never open the hood. Exactly as he said, that sudden 
extra oxygen will cause the fire to flare.

When my first 5ktq went up in smoke I caught it before it got big, but knew 
it was on fire. I was letting a friend play with the EFI tuning and he asked 
why the intake air temp was at 200 degrees - hint!! I poped the hood, but 
when I got out and saw that it really was on fire better judgement told me 
to leave it be. Two FL State Troopers were nearby, saw the smoke, and drove 
over near me. They got thier extinguishers out, looked at my car and said 
"We don't get paid enough for this" and put the extinguishers away. I sat 
with them and watched as it turned from smoke to visible flames, watched the 
headlights explode, watched the tires explode, then watched as the fire made 
its way through the HVAC system to engulf the dashboard and eventually the 
head liner. Was something like 20 minutes before the FD arrived.

Somehow my MegaSquirt suvived amazingly enough. It was in the glove box, 
which had been partially eaten by the fire. The case still to this day has 
scorch marks on it today - and it runs my black 5ktq perfectly.

-Cody Forbes
http://www.5000tq.com
'87 5ktq - Fast.
'87 5ktq QLCC'd plus some
'86 5ktqCD
'86 5k
'86 5k