Pictures show the car fire which destroyed vehicle off the A5 near Oswestry
The fire service have revealed pictures of a car destroyed in a fire on the A5 near Oswestry.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to the incident on the A5 near to the Lion Quays at around 8.55pm on Tuesday, August 12 - with two crews from Ellesmere Fire Station heading to the scene.
The crew has now revealed details about the fire in a post on social media, with pictures of the car involved, and explaining some of the difficulties presented by incidents involving vehicles.
When the crew arrived firefighters from North Wales were already on the scene and were in the process of extinguishing the fire.
The Ellesmere firefighters provided support with hosereel jets while wearing breathing equipment.
The crew explained issued they can face while dealing with car fires on major roads.
They said: "Incidents on roads such as this can be dangerous. In addition to the risks brought about by the vehicle fire, we face fast-moving traffic and a lack of water supplies because hydrants aren't provisioned along main roads.
"Road closures become necessary for crew safety, and that of road users.
"Electric handbrakes can fail (presenting a risk of the vehicle moving into flowing traffic which may then cause a collision) and some components, such as tyres and gas struts, can explode becoming projectiles.
"We are often asked, "Will the petrol tank explode"? The answer is "no".
"Petrol and diesel tanks often melt, releasing any fuel directly to the ground. On tarmac roads, this can cause a risk of a "running fuel fire", which is flammable liquid alight, moving along the road, but we deal with this quickly.
"You may see that we block drains at such incidents.
"This is to prevent fuel and contaminants from entering the network, where it might travel some distance and pose a risk elsewhere.
"It also ensures we protect the environment.
"Tyres are the biggest risk, and the extremely loud bangs normally heard at vehicle fires are attributable to them exploding.
"Their force is sufficient to take a firefighter off their feet and cause injury.
"We treat vehicle fires with extreme caution and road closures are necessary for the protection of all.
"We work hard to ensure that the road is opened as quickly as possible once the emergency phase of the incident is dealt with. We also hate being stuck in traffic..."
