NHTSA Complaint #760509 — 1991 JEEP CHEROKEE

I WAS DRIVING IN FREEWAY TRAFFIC ON MY WAY TO WORK AT 6:45AM AND WAS ON THE ROAD FOR APPROX. 10 MINS. I SMELLED A STRONG BURNING SMELL, THEN NOTICED DARK BLACK SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE DASHBOARD BY THE FRONT WINDOW ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. BY THE TIME I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO A SAFETY ZONE, A FIRE HAD STARTED AND FLAMES AND MELTED PLASTIC STARTED DRIPPING TO THE FLOORBOARD. WITHIN 20-30 SECONDS, THE FLAMES HAD ENGULFED THE ENTIRE DRIVER SIDE AND WAS SHOOTING UP FROM THE CEILING OF THE CAR. I WAS ABLE TO GET OUT AND RUN UP THE EMBANKMENT ON THE FREEWAY. IN THIS VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME,THE JEEP WAS COMPLETELY ENGULFED IN FLAMES AND THE ENTIRE CAR BURNT TO THE FRAME. TOTAL TIME OF VISABLE SMOKE TO FIRE IN THE DASH WAS LESS THAN A MINUTE.*AK