According to research, fire is the cause of truck accidents in nearly eight per cent of cases, today PowerTorque looks at the common causes of fires in trucks and trailers. This places fire behind causes like inappropriate speed, fatigue, driver error and accidents with no discernible cause, but fire is more prevalent a cause than mechanical failure, theft and contributory negligence. Show NTI’s Major Accident Investigation Report in 2017 breaks down the stats to tell us over 65 per cent of the accident causing fire incidents surveyed were engine and cabin fires, 14 per cent were caused by a truck wheel bearing, while just over 10 per cent were caused by a trailer bearing fire. Around six per cent were brake fires and a further four per cent were trailer freezer fires. Common CausesIn a study of truck fires from 2016, Peter Hart of Hartwood Consulting identified a wide range of issues operator should bear in mind in regard to reducing the incidence of fires in a fleet. Truck fires can have many and varied causes and the most common causes of heavy-vehicle fires are:
Minimise the RiskThere are a number of ways a truck operator can minimise these risks:
Pre-conditions for FireFire takes hold under the following three conditions:
The rate at which a fire spreads also depends on these factors. Well-oxygenated fires in materials that have low ignition temperatures spread quickly while fires in, for example, wheel bearing housings are usually slow to propagate. The materials that burn are usually:
Experience shows that metals are never the initiating materials. Solder always melts and aluminium often melts as a result of fire, but this is consequential. Copper, brass and steel are oxidised by exposure to fire but only melt at electrical arc points. Electrical short circuits may produce local hot spots with temperatures sufficient to melt these metals. Therefore, electrical short-circuits can usually be identified from solidification globules and arc craters on either electrical or adjacent earthed metal. (PowerTorque would like to acknowledge Peter Hart from Hartwood Consulting for his work in this field and supplying this data.) What is the most common cause of truck fires?The following are the leading causes of commercial vehicle fires:. Mechanical failure or malfunction - 59%. Electrical failure or malfunction - 13%. Exposure fire - 4%. Collision, overturn, or run over - 3%. Intentional - 2%. Smoking materials - 1%. Which of the following is most likely to cause a vehicle fire?1: Fuel System Leaks. Leaks in the fuel system are the most common cause of vehicle fires, so that's why they take the top spot on our list. A fuel system leak is really dangerous.
What causes a truck to burn?Leaky Fuel System
Usually cited as the most common cause for cars to start fire, leaks in the fuel system are dangerous. A car accident or poor maintenance can lead to a fuel leak, but a leak can also emerge spontaneously as a car ages. Gasoline is the most dangerous fluid in a vehicle.
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