Our engine crew was dispatched to a vehicle fire with flames showing from the engine compartment. It was confirmed that no one was inside the vehicle. Upon arrival we found a car that was fully involved. We pulled a line to about 50 feet from the car and not quite 45 degrees off of the front. As soon as we got the line flaked and called for water we heard two loud bangs. One was a tire blowing and one we later found was one of the hood struts. Shortly after we heard another loud bang and had a piece of the other hood strut shoot out and skip within 10 feet of us on the road. We then backed up and started our attack at more of an angle. In a short amount of time we had the fire under control.
LESSONS LEARNED:
-Keep your distance from car fires initially until you get it cooled down. -Approach the car at an angle so you arent in the path of any struts that might blow. -Dont get complacent with car fires, bad stuff can happen.
