This is exactly what we don’t want to see!
It’s always hard to see a classic car like this 1935 Auburn Boattail get damaged while being enjoyed. In this case, the owner was out cruising in Bellingham, Washington on October 6 when the engine compartment suddenly caught fire. That’s not what you want to see as you’re rolling down the road. The guy did the right thing and stopped the car immediately.
1 of only 3 1911 Auburns was damaged last year in a car crash. See it here.
The local fire department credits some nearby business owners for saving the car from being completely consumed by the blaze. They ran outside with their fire extinguishers and suffocated the fire before firefighters even arrived. This should be incentive enough for everyone to ensure they have fire extinguishers and that they’re properly charged.
Thanks to the quick action of those business owners, no fire damage is visible beyond the engine compartment. Considering how much these Auburn Boattails are worth, that’s a good thing. Plus, it’s always horrible to see a rare classic be destroyed, especially when the situation was avoidable. We see far too many devastating classic car fires all over the country, so this story helps warm our hearts a little.
Everyone can speculate about the origin of this fire. It might have been something wrong with the fuel system, maybe a leak the owner was “going to” repair sometime. It could have been a cooling fault. Or maybe it was faulty wiring – we honestly don’t know since no local reporting indicates that a cause was determined. No doubt the owner is getting to the bottom of what happened, but this accident also highlights the importance of proper maintenance of your vehicles, especially the electrical and fuel delivery systems. Failure to keep those in proper order can result in a sudden fire. We’re just glad this car was saved and nobody was hurt.
Photos credit: Bellingham Fire Department
Source: Bellingham Herald
