Our 2008 Prius Dies in a Fire

I almost lost all of the things you mention. My wife had picked me up at the airport. Although I was driving she had the SKS transmitter in her purse. She wisely moved away when we stopped. When I began to see the fire might not be easily put out, I tried to open the hatch, but it was locked. Inside was my suitcase (new, a gift from my wife) and my backpack with laptop, Kindle, and camera among other things.

Because she (with the SKS) was too far away I couldn't open the hatch. What happened next is unclear. She thinks she gave me the SKS. I have no memory of it. But she did get close enough or I came to her and the hatch came open. I yanked the luggage out of the back and put down the hatch. In the process the SKS was lost. We searched the grass afterward and each thought the other had it. We never found it. But I was able to grab my little Canon digital from my backpack and start snapping pictures, since there was nothing else to do but watch it burn.

This may make it sound like we were panickly, but we weren't. It was like the whole thing was in slow motion. There were no tears, no screams, just the slow realization that we were going to lose our Prius.

 

Good question. I don't know and I was afraid to poke around in there to find out. Most everything that remained was metal and there were loose, uninsulated wires everywhere. If the battery did survive it wouldn't have been in a very good mood. Also, I did not see the 12V battery. Isn't that in the rear?

 

I asked the police who were at the scene about taking a report and they said it wasn't needed, although I could file a "walk-in" report if needed. The insurance company didn't ask for a report. The tow driver offered to take us home, but we were able to call a relative to pick us up. Some bystanders also offered to give us a lift. One thing I took away from this: the folks in my neck of the woods are really nice and supportive in times of trouble. I wanted to pay to replace the fire extinguishers they used, but they left before I could catch up with them. One person even dumped his water bottle on the fire -- not much help but it's the thought that counts.