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My Jeep fire extinguisher saved a vehicle last weekend

tkmo061

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One of the first things I did when I bought our 2020 JLUR was to purchase a fire extinguisher and roll-bar fire extinguisher mount. I have always carried an extinguisher in my 3/4 ton truck but never in a passenger vehicle. So last night I got to put out my first car fire. My wife and I were traveling home late Friday night and were approaching a highway interchange. A car ahead of me in our left-side lane was turning left into the interchanges as were we. As he half ass takes the turn, he crosses a lane of traffic in the two lane ramp and slams into the right side concrete barrier at about 60 mph. Bounces off the barrier and crosses back left across two lanes while his car does a 180. Slams into the left wall and stops facing us. Half the car is in our lane and half in the breakdown lane. We stop on a very dangerous curve as far to the left as we can. My wife calls 911 and I run up to check on the driver. Dude appears to be very impaired and totally ignores me as I attempt to find out if he is OK. He then gets on his cell phone and walks away from the vehicle. As I'm standing there his car engine compartment bursts into flames. I run back to the Jeep and grab the extinguisher and yell that the car is on fire to wife. Dispatcher can hear me through the open line on the phone and tells my wife to tell me to let it burn. F$&$ that. I run up and am able to put out the fire via a large opening in the bent-up hood. Driver looks at me and runs the other way never to be seen again. We wait about 10 more minutes and still no EMS. Since we are in a precarious spot on the highway we ask the dispatcher if we can move to a safer location. Dispatcher tells my wife that fire trucks are almost there and we can leave the scene, so we safely get the heck out of there. His car was probably totaled anyway, but why risk EMS lives dealing with a raging car fire if you can put it out while it is manageable. What if someone had been trapped in the vehicle? From now on I will carry a small extinguisher in all of my vehicles. Better to need it and never use it than to need it and not have it.
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jdubya421

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In that situation where the driver and occupants are out I think that is a good time to use the extinguisher on the vehicle. I was taught that extinguishers are for people, not vehicles. If everyone is already safe though and you have the opportunity to do something you should. Glad you had the situation under control.
 

Fusilli Jerry

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One of the first things I did when I bought our 2020 JLUR was to purchase a fire extinguisher and roll-bar fire extinguisher mount. I have always carried an extinguisher in my 3/4 ton truck but never in a passenger vehicle. So last night I got to put out my first car fire. My wife and I were traveling home late Friday night and were approaching a highway interchange. A car ahead of me in our left-side lane was turning left into the interchanges as were we. As he half ass takes the turn, he crosses a lane of traffic in the two lane ramp and slams into the right side concrete barrier at about 60 mph. Bounces off the barrier and crosses back left across two lanes while his car does a 180. Slams into the left wall and stops facing us. Half the car is in our lane and half in the breakdown lane. We stop on a very dangerous curve as far to the left as we can. My wife calls 911 and I run up to check on the driver. Dude appears to be very impaired and totally ignores me as I attempt to find out if he is OK. He then gets on his cell phone and walks away from the vehicle. As I'm standing there his car engine compartment bursts into flames. I run back to the Jeep and grab the extinguisher and yell that the car is on fire to wife. Dispatcher can hear me through the open line on the phone and tells my wife to tell me to let it burn. F$&$ that. I run up and am able to put out the fire via a large opening in the bent-up hood. Driver looks at me and runs the other way never to be seen again. We wait about 10 more minutes and still no EMS. Since we are in a precarious spot on the highway we ask the dispatcher if we can move to a safer location. Dispatcher tells my wife that fire trucks are almost there and we can leave the scene, so we safely get the heck out of there. His car was probably totaled anyway, but why risk EMS lives dealing with a raging car fire if you can put it out while it is manageable. What if someone had been trapped in the vehicle? From now on I will carry a small extinguisher in all of my vehicles. Better to need it and never use it than to need it and not have it.
I'm sorry you had to waste a whole extinguisher on an asshole. But hey, it's exciting drive and you didn't get a scratch! Mazel Tov!
 

Notorious

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Good on you for keeping a Fire extinguisher and trying to intervene.

The moment you verified that the driver made off and you confirmed that there wasn’t anyone else in the vehicle, it would have been okay to follow dispatch’s advice, move to a safe location, standby for the Fire Department and watch as the vehicle burns.

No sense in wasting a good can on a hunk of burning metal.
 

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cosine

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Great job!!!!
You’re an upstanding citizen who is not afraid to get involved. Rare these days
true in the rarity of good samaritains in helping others. however, the good samaritian law is sketchy in todays time. some a lot of good samaritians are holding back in helping due to being afraid of being sued.
 

entropy

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If I was 100% sure there was nobody in the car I woulve let it burn. But you are the one who was there, and you put off the fire, so your judgement was on spot.

Dude who left the scene is in trouble now for leaving. But I guess they wont be able to prove he was drunk/high.
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