No Injuries In Vehicle Fire On West Side; One Cited For Crossing Fire Hose

A Madison man was on his way to work when he smelled an odor of burning plastic inside his car and saw smoke coming from the front vents. He pulled off of Mineral Point Road onto Yellowstone Drive and checked the engine compartment. Finding nothing amiss, he returned to the passenger area and found flames now coming from the same vents.
 
With his cell phone battery dead, he was unable to call 911. His only hope at that moment was to grab the can of Red Bull in his car and dump it onto the fire. That didn’t work.
 
Eventually, a bystander called 911 for him and the Madison Fire Department was on its way.
 
The passenger compartment of the car was fully engulfed in flames when Ladder Company 2 pulled up at 10:32 a.m. The firefighters swiftly knocked down the fire and report there were no additional passengers in danger.
 
The engine compartment and trunk were both intact but heavily damaged by smoke. No recent mechanical work had been done on the car. Although the exact cause of the fire is unknown, it’s believed to be accidental.
 
During the Fire Department’s response to this incident, one motorist passed through the scene and drove over the firefighters’ hose. As it is illegal to do so, she was issued a citation by Madison Police.