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What a day

6K views 35 replies 14 participants last post by  cardoc 
#1 ·
It's been screwball from the start. Mishaps????

1st AT&T did something with their service and everything in the lot/shop had to be reconfigured/reset so the internet and all the comps could communicate.

Then this after lunch.

Everyone that was there when it started got out and is safe. 2 firefighters of 80 suffered from heat/smoke issues.

It all started around a 2016 Supercharged XJ-L and spread from there to the interior. No one around. One of the guys saw the car on fire in the cameras. Another XJ-L, M3 and a shite Golf all burned to the frames. 🙁

Hell of a day.
 
#4 ·
Another thing to consider in the number if trucks is over 120 cars with fuel in them. Chemicals and parts storage in the building. Engines in crates. Waste oil tank that was 1/3 full. Boxed parts. Tires.

There is an apartment complex right behind the fence 40' from the wall where the fire was. There are business on either side. And relief firefighters always rotating. They are still there looking for hot spots and the first truck arrived at about 1.
 
#6 ·
It all started around a 2016 Supercharged XJ-L and spread from there to the interior. No one around. One of the guys saw the car on fire in the cameras. Another XJ-L, M3 and a shite Golf all burned to the frames. 🙁
So sorry about what happened. Glad you're ok and thank goodness nobody died - the fire must have been far worse than it looks in the videos considering all the firefighters that needed treatment. They must have done a really heroic job to keep the fire contained to only a few cars and part of the building.

Is there anything that can be done to prevent spontaneous vehicle fires, or are they just absolutely random? BMW's have been having a slew of them.
 
#8 · (Edited)
@johnre
The back glass shattered from the heat on the Outback. The other Subies in that row seem good. One's a modified XT Forester. Something projected out of the heat and hit another car's glass in the row on the edge of the lot.

The fire dept did a great job at containment. If the fire had gotten past that 2nd Jag and to the Outback it would have been a massive chain. The one Jag behind the Outback didn't have much fuel in it so it was mainly the combustibles built on the car that burned.

I'm going over later to see what's salvageable, tools, diag electronics, engines, etc.

Business is manageable. We have another building half block over we just got ready sans lifts. So we change our plans a bit and keep going.

(Edit: misinformation on Subie damage. The gold Outback has a partially melted rear bumper. The Crosstrek rear glass blew out from the heat coming out the side access door. See pics below.)
 
#15 ·
The last pic in the above post is a Polaris Ranger
Thanks for posting what it was. I spent a minute or so looking at the picture trying to make sense of what it was.

It's crazy how hot those fires burn. Scary stuff. Glad there were no fatalities and there weren't too many injured. I imagine the air temps were high enough in Austin at that time of day even without the fire. Much respect to firefighters everywhere for the job they do and the risks they take.
 
#17 ·
DANM! So, this is where you work? Still got a job? ...or are they giving everyone a "break" while things are evaled/rebuilt? (I know it's early in this, but let us know.....)
 
#19 ·
I'm always amazed at the damage level caused by car fires when the fire really takes hold. I've seen cars in similar condition from having once been parked at a Three Sisters trailhead that was burned over during our climb, which we witnessed from near the summit of North Sister - it was the 25,0000 acre (10,000 hectare) Pole Creek fire. My vehicle (the 2008 I still own) survived with no damage, thanks to it being parked next to an expensive composting toilet that the Forest Service wanted to save and therefore dropped lots of fire retardant on it - and also my vehicle.

But the flames and heat were intense enough that four cars nearby to mine were totaled - and by "totaled" I mean that while waiting for Sheriff's deputies to drive mine out of the closed area, I saw these others get brought out on a flatbed truck. They were totally gutted and looking like some of the images posted by @cardoc, and it looked like fuel had ignited. Besides having no tires, plastics, or other soft parts remaining, all the glass was out, the paint scorched, and some metal parts were melted.
 
#20 ·
We have a bldg half a block away from the lot that we have been working on for a larger shop area and high end car storage on the other side of the shop area. There's only one business between the two buildings. We just started working on the building 2 weeks ago. All it needs is the lifts installed, air,the rest of the lights and cleaning. Paint will come later. (Get the grunt to do that. 😁)

The side for the high end cars is now going to be fixed for sales.
Property Home Parking Real estate House
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Automotive tire Automobile repair shop
Automotive tire Tire Vehicle Car Parking
Vehicle Motor vehicle Car Automotive tire Automobile repair shop
Motor vehicle Vehicle Car Luxury vehicle Mid-size car
 
#23 · (Edited)
That's funny. All the cars on the lot are below NADA which makes it easy for people to get loans on them when they have bad credit. We don't finance. It was brought up that we ought to run a fire sale and raise all the prices $1,000. LOL. I voted no.
 
#28 ·
If there can be a silver lining here, it's that it's kept quite a few people employed in the construction trades - or I suppose per your descriptions it's really "automotive trades people temporarily converted over to construction trades".

Many are not so fortunate in this current situation.
 
#31 ·
When it's an electrical short the wire overheats. There's also the "appliance" is trying to draw more than the wire is capable to transfer, usually due to a loose connection, and the wire will overheat. A fuse doesn't blow all the time and the heat can build fast. The heat created in the wire transfers to it's surroundings. In European cars there is a lot of wire running through the interior. In a Jaguar, BMW, MB, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Maserati and even some American cars, the battery is in the trunk, except Audi SUVs are under the driver seat, and the battery cables run through the interior. All it takes is a hot positive or hot negative to light up the carpet, padding, seats, plastic trim, etc.

In a partially filled fuel tank, all it takes is a spark from a loose wire on the module to light the fumes. Doesn't have to be the fuel pump feed, it can be the level sensors, fuel temp, etc. Once the fumes light, the liquid continues to feed the fire as it evaporates from the heat.

The fire started somewhere at the rear of the Jag. That's all anyone can determine. It got so hot, melting plastics on cars more than 40' away, that it is hard to determine exactly where at the rear. The gas tank is gone. It got hot enough that the mag wheel on the right front burned and came apart in pieces with help from the GTI that burned next to it. Can't do anything with pulling Jaguar in on it. They'll pay millions to deny liability in any design fault, drag it on for years, just to keep from setting a precedent that would make them liable to more cash outlay.

The damage in the building was helped by the combustibles inside and the rear area had plenty of ventilation across it. That burned Crosstrek is right at an open side doorway that had flames shooting out it. Air supply via cross ventilation. Once it got in the roof, it was over.
 
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