Task Force studies why truck fires are more intense, recommends solutions
May 15th, 2010 by Kurt Niland
The American Trucking Associations’ Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) has established a Task Force to investigate the causes of commercial motor vehicle fires and to identify measures to prevent them. According to one electrical expert and Council contributor, Bruce Purkey of Purkey’s Fleet Electric, truck fires are especially dangerous in today’s trucks for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.
“I don’t know if there are more truck fires today or just that, now, they are catastrophic when they happen,” Purkey told Heavy Duty Trucking magazine.
“It used to be that when a fire happened, you’d burn up some wires and paint, and some passing good Samaritan trucker would get out a fire extinguisher and that would be that,” Purkey said. “But now with all the composite materials, glues, cab and sleeper trim, a driver is lucky to get out of a burning truck alive.”
Whereas in the past truck fires that caused $25,000 in damage would have been considered significant, they are now relatively minor, compared to a $100,000 truck burning down to the frame rails.
“When it melts the tires, you know that it’s a pretty hot fire,” Purkey told Heavy Duty Trucking.
The intensity of truck fires is what led TMC to create a task force it calls “Vehicle Electrical Fires: Causes and Prevention Solutions Task Force,” led by industry electrical expert Charlie Groeller. Groeller and other trucking industry veterans suspected that vehicle fires began with electrical shorts that overheat locally but spread quickly to flammable materials, so they put a call out for trucks damaged in “thermal events” that the Task Force could examine.
According to Heavy Duty Trucking:
“As it turns out, this is indeed the major cause of vehicle fires. But at subsequent meetings, issues with wheel ends have also been identified, such as dragging brakes and wheel bearing failures. Other events, such as turbo failures, also can ignite wiring and cab insulation. The Task Force has even identified such unlikely culprits under the hood as the windshield washer fluid. So the fleet members are now calling on other Study Groups to develop their own Task Forces to address potential fire risks.”
“And, of course, vehicle fires can be caused by what’s in the back of the truck. Shifted and incompatible cargo is a potential cause for fire, and nowhere is there more incompatible cargo than in a trash truck, which can be a likely and frequent candidate for a fire.”
For a detailed report of the Task Force’s findings, go to http://www.truckinginfo.com/maintenance/news-detail.asp?news_id=70126&news_category_id=81