We appreciate that the problem didn’t become urgent until our youngest son had arrived at work and exited the car. Then, we’re thankful that a few minutes later, a co-worker noticed the smoking under the hood of the vehicle. And, we are glad our oldest son called the fire department when he did.
He had called us first, so we were on our way with a tow rope, not knowing if it had just overheated or some such thing. However, in the interim, he made the decision that immediate help was prudent. We arrived to see the front end of the car covered in flames and the fire crew hosing it down.
When the vehicle was more approachable, but only by those with heavily gloved hands and breathing masks, a large circular saw was put to work on cutting the hood open. It was a messy procedure, leaving the hood looking like modern art. The gush of water was now applied more directly and thoroughly to the well melted engine.
The hood sections were pushed back down, we completed the necessary paperwork, and the fireman offered to call a tow truck for us. During the half hour wait for it, we did some clean-up work. The folks at Greenhurst Nursery loaned us a couple of brooms, the largest dust pan I have ever seen, and pulled the dumpster over from across the parking lot.
It is not easy to sweep charred car parts off of asphalt. The edge of the dust pan was useful for prying some the melted goo from the pavement. Never one to unnecessarily throw anything away, Greg grinned when he found a large bolt in good shape amidst the debris.
Out of curiosity, I asked the fireman how often they put out car fires. I was amazed by his answer of “about one a week.” That’s quite a few! But as he says, there are a lot of cars and they do have explosions going on inside of them whenever they are running.
It is a new reminder of what it means that “our God is a consuming fire.” Dangerous and cleansing. That was just one little, localized flame. He, on the other hand, can’t be contained. That’s power.
