Holy Smokes (literally) Caught fire!
09-05-2007, 05:54 PM
#1
Drifting
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Holy Smokes (literally) Caught fire!
I had just spent the last two day spiffing up my 99 996 in preparation for attending our class reunion....and I drove it to the coffee shop to have a cup and yak with some of the guys. On the way, I noticed that suddenly the TC light came on...followed by the smell of burning wiring. I saw a whisp of smoke coming out of the center air conditioning vent....then suddenly the entire dash lit up like a christmas tree and all power died. Luckily I had enough speed going and the light was green, so I was able to turn the corner without power steering and coast over to the side of the road.
The smoke continued coming out of the center vent....then became stronger. A small lick of flame dripped down from under the dash to the right of the steering column. I jumped out, and raised the hood thinking the battery was shorting out...but it wasnt'. By now, flames were dripping down like a waterfall of fire as plastic and wiring burned. There was no way I could stop the fire as it was like liquid napalm and stuck to anything it landed on. I started grabbing paperwork out of the center console...insurance papers, registration etc....then suddenly the driver's airbad exploded shoving my head to the side. Luckily I was leaning in the passenger's side of the vehicle, so I didn't take the full brunt of the exploding bag, but it did twist rather violently force my head to the side. I had no idea those bags exploded with such force. It sounded like a 12 gauge shotgun going off.
The fire continued to burn with more intensity...a fellow stopped behind me and came up with an extinguisher....shot a few puffs at the dripping flames and it stopped, but smoke billowed out of the car choking off any effort to get any more things out of the car. The force of the airbag combined with the heat fractured the glass in the front windshield....and the underside of the dash is a crispy critter.
I dont know if this is going to be a total....but looking at it makes me sick. I loved that car...and the Iris Blue is such an unusual color. If and when the insurance company decides to settle.....I'll be looking for that twin turbo.
The smoke continued coming out of the center vent....then became stronger. A small lick of flame dripped down from under the dash to the right of the steering column. I jumped out, and raised the hood thinking the battery was shorting out...but it wasnt'. By now, flames were dripping down like a waterfall of fire as plastic and wiring burned. There was no way I could stop the fire as it was like liquid napalm and stuck to anything it landed on. I started grabbing paperwork out of the center console...insurance papers, registration etc....then suddenly the driver's airbad exploded shoving my head to the side. Luckily I was leaning in the passenger's side of the vehicle, so I didn't take the full brunt of the exploding bag, but it did twist rather violently force my head to the side. I had no idea those bags exploded with such force. It sounded like a 12 gauge shotgun going off.
The fire continued to burn with more intensity...a fellow stopped behind me and came up with an extinguisher....shot a few puffs at the dripping flames and it stopped, but smoke billowed out of the car choking off any effort to get any more things out of the car. The force of the airbag combined with the heat fractured the glass in the front windshield....and the underside of the dash is a crispy critter.
I dont know if this is going to be a total....but looking at it makes me sick. I loved that car...and the Iris Blue is such an unusual color. If and when the insurance company decides to settle.....I'll be looking for that twin turbo.
09-05-2007, 06:04 PM
#2
My god man! That's a horrible and frightening story. Glad you're ok, except for the emotional anguish I guess. Keep us posted if someone is able to determine the cause of this.
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09-05-2007, 06:40 PM
#8
Three Wheelin'
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Geeeez, Chuck, that is shocking news indeed! I can imagine how you must feel now.
But like everyone said, thank goodness you are all right.
I would love to know what caused the fire.
But like everyone said, thank goodness you are all right.
I would love to know what caused the fire.
09-05-2007, 06:42 PM
#10
Drifting
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Wow! At least this defect is covered under your insurance policy.
I had just spent the last two day spiffing up my 99 996 in preparation for attending our class reunion....and I drove it to the coffee shop to have a cup and yak with some of the guys. On the way, I noticed that suddenly the TC light came on...followed by the smell of burning wiring. I saw a whisp of smoke coming out of the center air conditioning vent....then suddenly the entire dash lit up like a christmas tree and all power died. Luckily I had enough speed going and the light was green, so I was able to turn the corner without power steering and coast over to the side of the road.
The smoke continued coming out of the center vent....then became stronger. A small lick of flame dripped down from under the dash to the right of the steering column. I jumped out, and raised the hood thinking the battery was shorting out...but it wasnt'. By now, flames were dripping down like a waterfall of fire as plastic and wiring burned. There was no way I could stop the fire as it was like liquid napalm and stuck to anything it landed on. I started grabbing paperwork out of the center console...insurance papers, registration etc....then suddenly the driver's airbad exploded shoving my head to the side. Luckily I was leaning in the passenger's side of the vehicle, so I didn't take the full brunt of the exploding bag, but it did twist rather violently force my head to the side. I had no idea those bags exploded with such force. It sounded like a 12 gauge shotgun going off.
The fire continued to burn with more intensity...a fellow stopped behind me and came up with an extinguisher....shot a few puffs at the dripping flames and it stopped, but smoke billowed out of the car choking off any effort to get any more things out of the car. The force of the airbag combined with the heat fractured the glass in the front windshield....and the underside of the dash is a crispy critter.
I dont know if this is going to be a total....but looking at it makes me sick. I loved that car...and the Iris Blue is such an unusual color. If and when the insurance company decides to settle.....I'll be looking for that twin turbo.
The smoke continued coming out of the center vent....then became stronger. A small lick of flame dripped down from under the dash to the right of the steering column. I jumped out, and raised the hood thinking the battery was shorting out...but it wasnt'. By now, flames were dripping down like a waterfall of fire as plastic and wiring burned. There was no way I could stop the fire as it was like liquid napalm and stuck to anything it landed on. I started grabbing paperwork out of the center console...insurance papers, registration etc....then suddenly the driver's airbad exploded shoving my head to the side. Luckily I was leaning in the passenger's side of the vehicle, so I didn't take the full brunt of the exploding bag, but it did twist rather violently force my head to the side. I had no idea those bags exploded with such force. It sounded like a 12 gauge shotgun going off.
The fire continued to burn with more intensity...a fellow stopped behind me and came up with an extinguisher....shot a few puffs at the dripping flames and it stopped, but smoke billowed out of the car choking off any effort to get any more things out of the car. The force of the airbag combined with the heat fractured the glass in the front windshield....and the underside of the dash is a crispy critter.
I dont know if this is going to be a total....but looking at it makes me sick. I loved that car...and the Iris Blue is such an unusual color. If and when the insurance company decides to settle.....I'll be looking for that twin turbo.
09-05-2007, 07:01 PM
#13
Chandler!
Rennlist Member
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Man that really sucks... at least you were not hurt.
I would certainly think the insurance company will total it and you can look forward to getting another 996.
I would certainly think the insurance company will total it and you can look forward to getting another 996.
09-05-2007, 07:10 PM
#14
Rennlist Member
I know the feeling well... same thing happened in my Ferrari (thought it only happened to Italian cars actually!). Very sorry that in your case you didnt get to put the fire out in time. Hope the insurance guys do what is right by you and you.
09-05-2007, 07:20 PM
#15
Drifting
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I had it towed to Niello Porsche and got a phone call from them....they said the entire wiring harness and most of the controls under the dash are toast....plus with the deployed airbag and blown out windshield....I fully expect it to be totalled.
I will do an extensive followup with pictures...especially to cover the issue of potential cause. But one thing you folks might take from this is that in the event of an interior fire like this....watch out for that airbag deployment!! I was lucky that I was half in/half out of the car from the passenger's side taking my insurance documents out of the center console when it went off. Although it just hit me a glancing blow to the side of the head, since my cervical spine is fused at the C4 location, it could have easily broken my neck hitting me from the side like that.
Another thing I'll take away from this is that I've been looking at fire extinguishers....IslandmandPA I think sells the Halon ones.....and I talked myself out of buying them on a number of occasions using the logic that I've never heard of one of these cars just catching fire. My mindset has changed substantially.
I also have a lot of good mods in there that I'm hoping to be able to retro and keep...PSS9's, headers, EVOM CAI, MKII mufflers, new Michelin Pilot Sports, RSS Plenum etc. I kept all the OEM stuff, so I'm hoping that if the insurance company does write it off, they'll let me retro it to stock. There's a lot of money tied up in all those mods. I'd sure like to recoup some of it and offer it on this forum....because when the smoke clears (literally?) I intend to be looking for a twin turbo...and as a matter of fact am already talking to several folks about theirs.
Chuck
I will do an extensive followup with pictures...especially to cover the issue of potential cause. But one thing you folks might take from this is that in the event of an interior fire like this....watch out for that airbag deployment!! I was lucky that I was half in/half out of the car from the passenger's side taking my insurance documents out of the center console when it went off. Although it just hit me a glancing blow to the side of the head, since my cervical spine is fused at the C4 location, it could have easily broken my neck hitting me from the side like that.
Another thing I'll take away from this is that I've been looking at fire extinguishers....IslandmandPA I think sells the Halon ones.....and I talked myself out of buying them on a number of occasions using the logic that I've never heard of one of these cars just catching fire. My mindset has changed substantially.
I also have a lot of good mods in there that I'm hoping to be able to retro and keep...PSS9's, headers, EVOM CAI, MKII mufflers, new Michelin Pilot Sports, RSS Plenum etc. I kept all the OEM stuff, so I'm hoping that if the insurance company does write it off, they'll let me retro it to stock. There's a lot of money tied up in all those mods. I'd sure like to recoup some of it and offer it on this forum....because when the smoke clears (literally?) I intend to be looking for a twin turbo...and as a matter of fact am already talking to several folks about theirs.
Chuck