Car Troubles A Precursor To Vehicle Fire On East Dayton Street

A Madison man and his daughter noticed their 1996 Buick Park Avenue hadn’t been running smoothly lately, so the two decided to take it out for a spin and listen to it run.

As they slowed down at an intersection, a passerby noticed fire in the engine compartment and flagged them down to tell them. The father said he noticed smoke but thought it was a radiator hose leak.

Once they stopped the car and got out, flames were coming from under the wheel well and behind the front passenger-side tire.
 
They opened the hood and tried to extinguish the fire with snow and water, but it quickly grew in size and moved into the passenger compartment.
 
When Engine 3 and Medic 3 arrived, the front half of the passenger compartment was fully involved. Firefighters knocked down the flames with foam and water from their pre-connect hose line.
 
No recent work had been done on the car; the cause of the fire is unknown. The vehicle is fully insured; however, no damage estimate is available. Nobody was injured during the incident.