Rented U-Haul Goes Up In Flames On West Side

Ladder Company 7 was dispatched to a vehicle fire on South Whitney Way at Westbury Place. Upon arrival, firefighters found a white U-Haul van parked along the curb with a fully-involved engine compartment and passenger-area fire.
 
Firefighters extinguished the fire with the use of their front bumper line, and they located the driver on a sidewalk nearby.
 
The driver said he just picked up the vehicle at the U-Haul service center on Verona Road and had only driven it a few miles when a yellow warning light turned on. He immediately pulled over when the red “check engine” light appeared on the dash and he began to smell smoke. Flames were visible by the time he exited the vehicle.
 
There were no contents inside the back of the vehicle at the time of the fire, and the driver was uninjured. The U-Haul was towed back to the service center on Verona Road.