A tow truck driver got more than he bargained for after loading a disabled sedan onto his flatbed car carrier on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
The car caught fire, erupting into a fiery blaze while sitting atop the flatbed.
The car, which was having engine troubles, didn’t start smoldering until it was loaded onto the flatbed, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Jon Muir.
Motorists spotted the car carrier after 7 p.m. stopped on the Seal Beach Boulevard overpass at the 405, with smoke coming out of the four-door vehicle and flames flickering inside the passenger compartment.
Within 10 minutes, the flatbed truck pulled into the parking lot of the Seal Beach Post Office on Westminster Boulevard as flames engulfed the car. He was soon joined by at least three Seal Beach police cars, racing up with lights and sirens, and eventually an Orange County Fire Authority pumper truck.
The street filled with white smoke after firefighters began dousing the flames.
Muir said the cause of the fire was mechanical.
Car fires are common in Southern California, but cars bursting into flames after being loaded onto a towing service’s car carrier is unusual, Muir said. Towing services say they take precautions and won’t load vehicles if they’re leaking fuel. This case was different.
“It’s my first time seeing it,” Muir said.
