- malfunction of the battery
- malfunction of the electrical system
- malfunction of the on-board computer
- overheating engine
- hot engine igniting an intake or exhaust manifold coated in grime or grease
- rupturing fuel line (with fuel leaking onto a hot engine manifold)
- backfiring carburetor
- improperly-stowed portable gasoline cans inside a vehicle
- cigarette butt being sucked back into a moving vehicle after being tossed out of a window
- automotive design flaw (like the Ford Pinto in the 1970s)
- friction from auto parts seizing up (such as bearings)
- arson
Have you been injured in a vehicle fire? You could have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit.
The vast majority of injuries in Illinois auto accidents are caused by the impact itself. Either a vehicle slams into another vehicle at an angle where the force is transferred directly to the occupant (as in a T-bone collision, for instance), or an occupant’s body is forced against the dashboard, seat, or side of the vehicle after a vehicle strikes another object. But there’s another type of scenario that can result in injuries: a vehicle fire.
Vehicle fires are more common than you might think. The National Fire Protection Association reports that 33 car fires are reported every hour in the U.S. About 480 people die each year in vehicle fires, and over three times that number are injured annually. And about three out of every five people who die in vehicle fires were involved in an auto accident of some sort.
You may be surprised to learn that there is a plethora of ways that vehicles catch fire. These include: