Spurt in car fire cases sparks concern

Fire Department officials ask vehicle users to take precautionary measures to prevent any untoward incident

​Hyderabad: Four- wheelers are increasingly catching fire while on the move resulting in loss of life, property and also causing serious traffic snarls.

There is every possibility of an increase in such cases during summer, according to officials of the State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department of Telangana.

Four wheelers catch fire because the owners are increasingly resorting to overloading of electrical fittings. The makers of the vehicles provide adequate number of electrical fittings for respective cars.

However, after purchasing the vehicles, owners are opting for extra electrical fittings that is resulting in overloading, the officials said.

Due to overload, cars were catching fire while on the move, particularly during summer, the officials said and advised vehicle owners not to overload the vehicle with extra electrical fittings. Further, many car owners do not ensure proper maintenance of the vehicle. Regular checkups of the electrical fittings and wiring were a must to prevented fire accidents, the officials said.

Three persons managed to escape unhurt when a car caught fire on the PVNR Express Way on Saturday evening. The car was completely destroyed in fire though fire fighters doused the flames.

It may be recalled four persons were charred to death when a speeding car hit a divider and caught fire on the Outer Ring Road in December, while a car was gutted in fire soon after it was parked and the occupants went inside the Nuclear Fuel Complex in January this year.

“We have received as many as 123 vehicle related fire calls since the beginning of this year. The lives of those travelling in the vehicles will be in danger because the vehicles mostly catch fire while on the move,” Regional Fire Officer, V Papaiah said.

He also said that cigarette lighters and matchsticks should not be lit and appealed not to smoke inside the vehicle while on the move. The Regional Fire Officer appealed to the vehicle owners and users to keep portable fire extinguisher in every vehicle or at least water. He also asked them to keep the parking area clean and prevent piling up of garbage or any kind of combustible material.

The Fire Officer further said burning cigarette butts resulted in fire accidents many a time. The cause of fire in as many as 4,821 fire accidents reported in 2015-16 was found to be careless smoking, he said and appealed not to resort to careless smoking and throw the cigarette butts without putting off the fire.