A homeowner on Poplar Ridge Road quickly escaped his older model Volkswagen van unscathed when it burst into flames early Tuesday evening.
Volunteer firefighters and Rescue Squad members from Ridge and Bay District responded shortly after 5 p.m. and the van was a fireball when firefighters arrived.
The homeowner, a helicopter pilot at PAX NAS, told The Bay Net he was in the vehicle attempting to get it to start, when it backfired and the rear-end (where the engine is) burst into flames. The back end immediately filled with fire and neighbors reported seeing the flames from their windows.
The closest neighbor rushed over with a garden hose, but it had no effect, and the fire spread to the front of the garage by the time firefighters arrived.
Firefighters quickly knocked the flames and prevented it from spreading, but small explosions rekindled the flames, caused by gasoline and the propane tank hooked to the van’s kitchenette.
Firefighters used foam to extinguish the flames. Firefighters saturated the vehicle with foam to keep it from flaring-up again.
This model VW has a magnesium engine block, which is a flammable metal that is very difficult to extinguish once fully burning. The engine was glowing red and orange while firefighters flooded the van and driveway with foam.
