Last night, a friend of mine had her house burn to the ground, (literally). She is 89 years old and was in bed asleep. She didn't have her hearing aids and didn't hear the smoke alarm. What woke her was the smell of smoke and the cracking of timbers. She was able to make it out of her house and the neighbors called 911. By the time the firefighters arrived, flames were 30 feet in the air. I went over today and house is a total loss. Sadly, she is on a fixed income and let her home insurance lapse to save money. Firefighters told me the fire started in her car which was parked in the garage. The fire was so hot, it literally melted the car. Her car was a 1991 Lincoln Town Car. I'm thinking it might have been a short in the electrical system, maybe power windows, something like that. While I know it doesn't happen often, it is something to think about regarding parking your automobile in the garage. Thankfully, she was unharmed, (other than smelling like smoke and of course is heartbroken as not only did the house burn, but a lifetime of stuff went up in flames as well).
Car fire caused house fire
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Originally Posted By: dishdude
Sorry to hear about the fire, but glad to hear your friend made it out alive.
Fords of this era had a major issue with the cruise control switches, there have been multiple recalls on them.
Is this like the Audi situations where the cars would accidentally slip into reverse?
And OP, sorry to hear of her loss.
I am glad she made it out safe. That appears to be the only good news.
Sorry to hear about the fire, but glad to hear your friend made it out alive.
Fords of this era had a major issue with the cruise control switches, there have been multiple recalls on them.
Is this like the Audi situations where the cars would accidentally slip into reverse?
And OP, sorry to hear of her loss.
I am glad she made it out safe. That appears to be the only good news.
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
First and most important- glad she made it out.
My wife grumbles about the inconvenience of our detached garage. Stories like this make me like it all the more. :-/
Amen!
First and most important- glad she made it out.
My wife grumbles about the inconvenience of our detached garage. Stories like this make me like it all the more. :-/
Amen!
I had a friend's car burst into flame in front of their house.
It was so hot that it charred their landscaping near their house and melted a significant portion of the car parked across the street.
I've seen photos of houses where their windows, the vinyl framed windows, were melted by a car fire while parked in front of their house. And a tree in a neighbor's yard caught fire also.
Cars have a huge amount of plastics in their interiors, foam rubber for padding, and even their insulation for road noise. It's all water resistant, and fire resistant to a point.
BTW, I've seen multi-million dollar homes burn to the ground and take out their 4 car garage (loaded with expensive cars) due to the same issue.
Every car manufacturer has these issues. Even the "luxury" models.
The sad part is that she skimped on the insurance.
She has my sympathies.
It was so hot that it charred their landscaping near their house and melted a significant portion of the car parked across the street.
I've seen photos of houses where their windows, the vinyl framed windows, were melted by a car fire while parked in front of their house. And a tree in a neighbor's yard caught fire also.
Cars have a huge amount of plastics in their interiors, foam rubber for padding, and even their insulation for road noise. It's all water resistant, and fire resistant to a point.
BTW, I've seen multi-million dollar homes burn to the ground and take out their 4 car garage (loaded with expensive cars) due to the same issue.
Every car manufacturer has these issues. Even the "luxury" models.
The sad part is that she skimped on the insurance.
She has my sympathies.
If you look on Consumer Reports you will find house fires and kitchen fires caused by appliances just coming on and burning up. I am not talking about a fire when your cooking gets out of control and causes the fire. It seems the appliances with push button circuit boards rather than a big old knob are the ones causing the fires.
My oven and dishwasher and microwave all have push button circuit boards.
Commercial buildings must have fire strobes in addition to horns for fire alarm systems. Including in every bathroom in case you are deaf and in a stall taking a dump.
My oven and dishwasher and microwave all have push button circuit boards.
Commercial buildings must have fire strobes in addition to horns for fire alarm systems. Including in every bathroom in case you are deaf and in a stall taking a dump.
Unfortunate, but this provides an opportunity to encourage BITOG'rs to regularly review their insurance policies.
A few years ago, I increased my rebuild cost by 3 times since the insurance company pointed out that "the mess would have to be cleaned up" and all intact systems such as foundation and septic would have to be replaced prior to any rebuild (foundation is cut granite gneiss block) Septic is probably +50 years.
There is a neighboring town that had a greek colonial burn to the ground during renovations. Not sure what happened with the insurance there, the family has been living in a single wide that was dragged onto the property several weeks after the fire. That was about 10 years ago....
A few years ago, I increased my rebuild cost by 3 times since the insurance company pointed out that "the mess would have to be cleaned up" and all intact systems such as foundation and septic would have to be replaced prior to any rebuild (foundation is cut granite gneiss block) Septic is probably +50 years.
There is a neighboring town that had a greek colonial burn to the ground during renovations. Not sure what happened with the insurance there, the family has been living in a single wide that was dragged onto the property several weeks after the fire. That was about 10 years ago....
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Cruise control if the brake switch is in the master cylinder.Ignition switch...Canada had a class action suit against Ford and won.Alternator,those with that dreaded rectangular enlongated side plug.Use once and replace the pigtail,never re-use.Headlight switch.Many an F150/250/350/Bronco have been lost to those 80s/90s pull out switches shorting and melting the harness.
Many possibilities....to think Fords didnt burn up nearly as much before the mid 80s...
Many possibilities....to think Fords didnt burn up nearly as much before the mid 80s...
thats to bad. i know a guy that had that happen . only it was two guys working on a car in the garage. engine not starting. poor gas. car catches fire. both go out to move car behind . door closes and locks. key for second car is in car 1. cant get in house. house is in the country not in the city. TRUE STORY thats just one thing that happened to this guy. the list is to long to put here. my dad told me stay away from Vince.
Thank you all for the kind words, support and ideas. Her son arrived today from up north and is in total shock. We were wondering that since it was a car fire and the car was insured, perhaps they can get some money that way. Vacant lots in these parts right now are selling for around 10 grand for a 10,000 sq foot lot. What's left of the house will have to be torn down and the lot cleared before they can even think of selling it. I'm wondering if it would even be worth it financially. Perhaps it would be cheaper and easier to simply walk away and let the property go for taxes, (the house was paid for).
As far as letting her insurance lapse, that's actually pretty common in these parts with retired people. What happens is this. Couple retired 25-30 years ago, moved to Florida, built their dream home and had all the things they always wanted for about 10 to 15 years. Then the pension doesn't keep up with the cost of living, the money they've set aside starts running out and people are forced to make choices. They start selling things - the boat, the extra car, etc. Then they stop running the AC. They eat corn flakes for lunch and dinner. They can't make repairs to the house and it starts to look shabby. It's really sad. It's almost like they had a plan but outlived the plan. I see a lot of that, especially with elderly women who have outlived their husbands and are now alone. What is really heartbreaking is for many, their children show no interest in them till they pass, then come looking for the money and "things" which are gone and then swear they've been cheated.
As far as letting her insurance lapse, that's actually pretty common in these parts with retired people. What happens is this. Couple retired 25-30 years ago, moved to Florida, built their dream home and had all the things they always wanted for about 10 to 15 years. Then the pension doesn't keep up with the cost of living, the money they've set aside starts running out and people are forced to make choices. They start selling things - the boat, the extra car, etc. Then they stop running the AC. They eat corn flakes for lunch and dinner. They can't make repairs to the house and it starts to look shabby. It's really sad. It's almost like they had a plan but outlived the plan. I see a lot of that, especially with elderly women who have outlived their husbands and are now alone. What is really heartbreaking is for many, their children show no interest in them till they pass, then come looking for the money and "things" which are gone and then swear they've been cheated.
That's sad, but here is some comic relief. In 1982 I was a Sergeant on the Dallas Police. Another Sgt and I were taking our lunch break. We couldn't see our squad cars from where we sat. The waitress came up and told him his car was burning. It was an almost new Chrysler product. We thought it was a joke but went out to see flames coming from around the hood. He got his briefcase and shotgun out just before it was fully engulfed. The FD came but the car was a total loss. Made for a good story.
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