[n.devdath]

Source & Full News Article : Indian Express

A 32-year-old man was charred to death inside his Honda Civic after its engine caught fire and the central locking system jammed the doors, trapping Rajesh Kumar Misra inside the vehicle.

Misra died of 100 per cent burns, despite the fact that the 200-metre-long Indira Gandhi International Airport underpass has eight fire fighting devices along each carriageway.

This is the state of the so-called fire safety devices installed at the brand new, world class IGI airport and its precincts.

When will we improve? Will we ever improve?

[Eminenttismo]

Scary. Hope this opens the eye of the maintenance people Dwarka Underpass. RIP.

I'm starting to think of removing the Central Locking from my car.

I came across this link. I suppose we must have a thread running on how to get out of a car when it's Cental locking is jammed.

http://arpitengineer.blogspot.in/200...ng-system.html

How about disabling the driver/passenger door from the Central locking system? I mean removing the motor from the passenger/driver door?

[rrsteer]

So it seems any make of car is exposed to the threat of catching fire. My question to forum members:

1. What are the conditions which increase the chances of a car catching fire?

2. In case of fire, and when the central locking is jammed, what is that as an onlooker one can do to rescue the trapped passegers?

3. What are the best practiced to be followed by a car owner to prevent fire or what tools should be present in a car to tackle such an eventuality?

[Ace F355]

Scary! And I mean SCARY to know about the jammed locks.

I know what I am going to suggest may sound a bit theoretical and may not be easy to follow once you are under panic attack in such situation, the person should have taken out the headrest and should have used that to break the rear glass to come out of the car.

More here...
http://twentytwowords.com/2012/07/25...th-a-headrest/

Although I have to admit it could be much difficult to get out of such situation, especially Civic being a low slung and tightly packed car.

May the soul of the deceived rest in peace. Amen.

[sumeethaldankar]

A simple solution is to keep a club type lock in the car the kind that fits on the steering and the pedals etc.Not only it's a anti-theft device it will also act as a hammer to break open the window in such situations.

[navpreet318]

What has happened is sad. Truly sad. But given the state of affairs all over India, this is what would happen. All We can do is arm ourselves with info and knowledge and presence of mind to avert and then get out of such a situation.

What I would like to know from an engineering point of view is how did the fire happen? What malfunctioned in the car. Civic is a very very reliable car. How could this have happened? I know there are many reasons like ill maintenance but knowing the root cause would be good.

Next is how to get out of such a situation. I must admit that even I don't keep a small fire extinguisher, it would be the best thing in such situations. Even if it can't douse the fire, just smash the windows using it!
Most important of all, get training is using your body. We have become such a lethargic race we can't even protect ourselves! Our body is made very strong by nature. Start a sport. Then one will know. Break the glass using your elbow or your feet. Our legs are the strongest part. Kick it! Kick it hard!
Presence of mind is the most important tool of all! You have all the tools/weapons on you! Your arms and your legs and your brain! Use it!

[SedatedDrive]

I have taught my wife on what to do in the Cruze in case of a fire:

1. Push back front seats completely. This will allow us to squirm out of the seat belts in case they are jammed.
2. Pull the rear split seat forward and crawl into the boot.
3. Pull the escape lever inside the boot to open the boot door from inside.
4. Get out and away from the car. Call the Fire Engine department.

[sagarpadaki]

Read the news article. Such a sorry state of affairs in the country. Organizations start putting the blame on one another! Why did't a thorough quality assurance check happen before throwing open the expressway to public?! This is exactly why we can never improve our standards of safety!A poor man's life was lost because of the faulty equipment! I feel, the deceased kin must file a complaint against the authorities !

OTOH, what could be the reason that the civic caught fire?!

[roy_libran]

What a sad thing to happen! I wouldn't usually rely on Fire safety Systems outside of my vehicle. What would happen if this were to happen on an open stretch of road?
Over the years, I have made it a point, not to have both Power Windows and Central Locking on the same vehicle at the same time. I can have one but not the other.
Just my viewpoint, but it reduces risk substantially IMO.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

We have become such a lethargic race we can't even protect ourselves! Our body is made very strong by nature. Start a sport. Then one will know. Break the glass using your elbow or your feet. Our legs are the strongest part. Kick it! Kick it hard!
Presence of mind is the most important tool of all! You have all the tools/weapons on you! Your arms and your legs and your brain! Use it!

Nav, I agree with you here. Presence of mind in such situations is the key. Have you tried moving from front seat to back seat in your civic? It's ridiculous even for a *semi* fit person. Now, imagine doing it under panic attack!

Here is what i think of a probable solution. Pull the front seat back, lean the seat backwards on rear seat, use Club hammer or something else to break open the rear glass and get out ASAP.

Originally Posted by SedatedDrive

2. Pull the rear split seat forward and crawl into the boot.
3. Pull the escape lever inside the boot to open the boot door from inside.

Good instructions for equipped cars. Sadly, we aren't blessed by Honda to have Rear split seats or boot opening lever from inside.

Originally Posted by Ace F355

deceived

EDIT: Deceased is what I meant. Typing on my phone, hence the error.

[ghodlur]

Bad, very bad. Unfortunately it took a man's life for the civic authorities to realize the non functioning of the so called safety equipments. Had the equipments been working, the deceased would have been alive.

Why didnt the people around break the window of the Civic when the fire hydrants didnt work, I guess they panicked too seeing a car burning. I hope Honda does a sincere investigation for the reasons of fire.

RIP Mr Mishra.

[apachelongbow]

As per road safety and automotive experts, the easiest and quickest way to escape from a car is to kick the front windshield from inside. Since it is fixed with superglue (most modern cars), it requires little pressure to kick out the glass from inside, compared to breaking it. Same case for rear fixed glass. Its relatively difficult to break open side window glasses.
Also it is a good idea to keep a small fire extinguisher bottle near the front passenger footwell. Helps buy cruical mins before exiting a burning car. I think its high time the govt makes this mandatory just like seatbelts.

[sushantr5]

I have one question regarding central locking, In my Tata Vista central locking is there which is electrically assisted, It means even if my electrical system fails I can open door just by pooling a lock knob because its all mechanical. So getting caught inside car due to kaput central locking does not convince me.

[navpreet318]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

............... Have you tried moving from front seat to back seat in your civic? It's ridiculous even for a *semi* fit person. Now, imagine doing it under panic attack!
.......................

Yes done that! A number of times too. Don't ask why. Its really not that tough. And I am not exactly fit but I have powerful legs and shoulders.

Another point of contention here is the central locking system. I did open the drivers side door pad sometime back to just check the mechanism there and it is all mechanical. True that the locking gun is electronic but the locking knob on the door is a mechanical rod. I wonder why it did not work?

I have tried it once. Even when the car is locked, turning the knob from inside can unlock and open the door.

[Arch-Angel]

Shameful state of affairs. Reminds me of a time where one of my friends learnt the hard way that there wasn't running water inside a public toilet where he had to use the loo. Talk about going to exams without preparation.

That aside, how can a fire hydrant not work? If it doesn't work why have it in the first place. Looks can be deceiving. RIP.