2,000 Perish Each Year In Vehicle Fires
4 November 1999
Ralph Hoar & Associates: 2,000 Perish Each Year In Vehicle Fires, Law Firm Says on the Safety ForumWASHINGTON, Nov. 3 -- During the last decade of the 20th Century, more than 20,000 people have perished in fire-related vehicle crashes, according to government statistics. Langdon, Emison, Kuhlman & Evans, a Lexington, Missouri law firm that has sued a number of major automakers for inadequate fuel system designs, claims that many of these crashes were survivable until the fire occurred. "Vehicle manufacturers have a duty to the public to design vehicles that will not create a fire hazard in survivable collisions. However, government safety standards only reduce the chance of fire in some types of crashes and automotive manufacturers have failed to adopt their own standards to avoid such fires," the firm says in an analysis of vehicle fires that follow crashes, which it posted today on The Safety Forum. The Safety Forum is an Internet website dedicated to identifying, publicizing and ultimately reducing deaths and injuries associated with hazardous products. The Safety Forum provides "attorneys of record" an opportunity to educate the public about product hazards that they have identified and successfully litigated. Automakers "have long been aware of the risk of fires associated with defective fuel systems. However, the incidence of vehicle fires has continued to be a serious problem," the firm says, in discussing the vulnerable aspects of vehicle fuel systems: * Fuel Tanks: Defects in the design and placement of fuel tanks have been among the most widely publicized fuel system defects, including the Pinto cases and the General Motors "sidesaddle" trucks with fuel tanks located outside the frame rail. Fuel tank defects may involve the location of the tank on the vehicle, the placement of the tank near objects that can potentially puncture the tank, the material from which the tank is constructed, the actual construction of the tank including improper welds, and the failure to adequately shield the tank. * Fuel Lines: Fuel-injected engines require fuel to travel through fuel lines at high pressure. Due to the high pressures involved, even a small compromise in a fuel line can result in a large amount of fuel escaping from the fuel system. Failure in a line may be caused by the location or routing of the line. Failure in a line may also result from the use of inappropriate materials. The location and composition of the fuel lines is critical to the overall fuel system integrity of a vehicle. * Fuel Pump: Most fuel-injected engines have electric fuel pumps. It is critical that these pumps shut off in the event of a collision. If a fuel pump does not shut off following a collision, the pump will continue to circulate gasoline through the fuel system, providing a constant source of fuel for any resulting fire. There are many different types of mechanisms that are used to shut off the fuel pump in the event of a collision. The type of mechanism used, and the location of that mechanism, may play a significant role in whether the fuel pump does, in fact, shut off following a collision. * Siphoning: It is possible for fuel to siphon from a fuel tank after a collision, providing a continuing source of fuel for a vehicle fire. Siphoning is the flowing of fuel through a point of compromise in a fuel system due to gravity. Gas can siphon from the fuel system at a very high rate, providing a substantial amount of fuel for a vehicle fire. Anti-siphoning devices are inexpensive, but are not incorporated on many vehicles presently on the highway.