WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – WECT has reported about 4 car fires in Southeastern North Carolina in the month of April, including 2 in Leland.
One of the fires started from equipment inside the car, while another came down to maintenance issues. Nobody was in either car, according to Leland deputy fire chief Buddy Brooks.
Brooks says Leland sees an average of 15 car fires each year. He says it’s rare for 2 car fires to happen in the same week.
Brooks says car fires can start due to several reasons, including when cars overheat during long road trips.
“I would say the leading cause would be poor maintenance on the vehicle. They have a lot of computers and wiring issues. The computers can catch on fire,” Brooks said.
To prevent car fires, Brooks says you should make sure you’ve read your owner’s manual and have your car inspected regularly.
It’s still important to know what to do if it happens.
“If your vehicle does catch on fire, the best thing to do is pull over to a safe space, turn the vehicle off and get away,” Brooks said.
If your car does catch on fire, it’s important to not panic. Brooks says you have more time to escape than you might think.
“It’s not like what you see in the movies, typically the car doesn’t just catch on fire and blow up,” Brooks said.
Brooks says 99% of the time, there are no injuries with the car fires they respond to.
Brooks recommends people keep a fire extinguisher in their car in case of an emergency. If your car catches on fire, you should call 911.
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