2010 Prius Caught Fire

I guess the OP made out -- he has not been back

 

I was once on a road trip up to the cabin, behind a 4-door pickup truck hauling a big fifth wheel camper... the truck was full with husband, wife and a few kids. Well, the spare tire underneath caught fire after the owner put a new exhaust on it. I had to flag them off the highway because they had no idea the truck had flames coming out underneath of it (btw, the spare tire was RIGHT by the HUGE gas tank). Wouldnt you know it?? I had a fire extinguisher in my trunk that put the fire out. Otherwise, it could have been ugly....

True story, and now I "always" keep an extinguisher in my vehicles, in various rooms of the house, and even though I only need two on my boat per maritime law, I have double that.

 

I happened to be a tank commander back in the mid-1990s when our M1A1's Halon automatic fire extinguishers went off in the tank while we were driving down a Korean road. We always heard this can and does happen in an M1, albeit rarely. I can testify here that after the 1st "flash/pfft" sound of the Halon discharge it really is impossible to breathe - each breath is like breathing a solid wall instead of air. Boy that was the absolute quickest time we all four of us parked and got the hell out of that tank - like 5 seconds flat. Fortunately, there was no fire. The tank was safe after 15 minutes with open hatches to air it out.

 

Yup, this thread has morphed into the "fire extinguisher story" thread. Threads always morph.

I didn't realize the US military also used Halon in tanks. I know the US Air Force uses it in their aircraft. And they still do, using recovery equipment to move it from extinguisher to extinguisher, trying to keep running the stuff, knowing they can't buy it new. It was banned as part of the "Ozone Hole solution".

 

^ Ah, finally the reason.

 

So what are we to make of this self - igniting Prius?

 

smoker... i looked out my door, and the center console was on fire. luckily, the fire department just happened to be out in the street at the time...

 

Chevrolet Volt Consumed By Fire, Burns To A Crisp – Cause Unknown

 

no more prius (and maybe toyota) for him, quite understandable.

 

Sorry about your car and the situation - I feel more sorry for you in having to deal with your homeowners insurance after a fire though. Good luck on that.

 

We'll probably never know what happened here.

 

Anybody carrying an extinguisher in a Gen 3, and if so, what are the dimensions and did you find a good place to store or mount it?

 

In my 951 it's the fire extinguisher, is mounted on the roll bar. But in the Real World, this looks like a reasonable alterative?

FireAde FireAde 2000 Fire Extinguisher Wet Chemical Class ABCDF 2B C Rated - 16 oz