Every year firefighters throughout our area respond to hundreds of vehicle fires. One occured over the weekend at the Switchback Mini Market in Summit Hill.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), one out of five reported fires is a car fire; occurring every 96 seconds in the United States. In fact, 18 percent of all fires take place on a roadway and involve a motor vehicle.The NFPA reports that, on average, 33 car fires are reported every hour across the country, with one person per day dying as a result.NFPA states that in 2007, a study year, 258,000 vehicle fires resulted in 385 deaths and 1,675 injuries in the United States.While the NFPA states that most vehicle fires are the result of mechanical failures or other car malfunctions, others were caused via vehicle accidents or arson.A motor vehicle contains many types of flammable materials, including flammable liquids like gasoline and oil as well as solid combustibles such as hose and hundreds of plastic parts. Fuel leaks from ruptured fuel lines can also increase the danger to firefighters battling the fire, causing the vehicle to explode.It is common for joyriders to set fire to stolen cars: abandoned cars are commonly set on fire by vandals. Most of the time non-arson auto fires are usually contained in the engine compartment of the vehicle. In most vehicles, the passenger compartment is protected from engine compartment fire by a firewall.Robert Ward, state fire instructor and retired fire chief, who spent a full day recently with volunteer firefighters from McAdoo, Tresckow and Hazleton at the McAdoo firefighter training grounds, talked to them about how to safely investigate, approach and extinguish a vehicle fire. The training was attended by about 40 firefighters and emergency personnel and geared around safety, proper handling of the water hose and water placement.If you are involved in a vehicle fire, firefighters recommend these actions: If the vehicle is moving, politely signal and move to the side of the road. Shut off the engine. Get yourself and all other occupants out of the vehicle immediately. Get far away from the vehicle and stay away from it. Keep onlookers and others away. Warn oncoming traffic. Notify emergency services. Do not attempt to try to put out the fire yourself due to the risk of explosion and the toxic fumes emanating from vehicles fires.Firefighters pointed out that inhalation of toxic fumes, not fire, is the most common form of vehicle fire-related death.According to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), teens with drivers' licenses and young adults are demographically more likely to be involved in a car fire accident, adding that young males were most likely to be a victim of a car fire than females.Ward said, "Opening the hood of a car is especially dangerous, as it allows a rapid and significant surge of air into the engine compartment, which can cause a rapid increase in fire intensity."If you are lucky enough to have a fire extinguisher available and still decide to put the fire out, firefighters suggest the extinguisher should be fully discharged through the gap created by simply releasing (but not lifting) the hood. Then the car should be left until the fire crew has pronounced it safe. As with all fires, residual hot spots may cause the fire to flare up when the hood is opened, causing fresh oxygen to reach the fire.Vehicle fires caused by collisions are responsible for almost 60 percent of vehicle fire deaths.The NFPA stressed that one out of three vehicle fire injuries occur when car fire victims or passersby attempt to fight the vehicle fire without the guidance or help of emergency workers and experienced firemen.