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1998 PETERBILT 379 — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD

fire · 353857 · 2002-05-18

Vehicle

Make
PETERBILT
Model
379
Year
1998
Manufacturer
PACCAR Incorporated
Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

OUR 1998 PETERBILT 379 CAUGHT FIRE INSIDE USS POSCO STEEL MILL IN PITTSBURG, CALIFORNIA ON THURSDAY 5-16-2002. AFTER LOOKING AT YOUR WEB SITE I FOUND A RECALL THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 00V029000 . NOW OUR TRUCK IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING TOTALED OUT. HOW DO WE FIND OUT IF THIS IS WHAT CAUSED FIRE. ON OUR ESTIMATE DAMAGES WE HAVE LOSS OF THE OF OUR TRUCK, OUR LIVELY HOOD, AND ANY CLAIMS WHICH USS POSCO MAY MAKE, FOR HAVING TO BE SHUT DOWN. MY HUSBAND IS DEFINITELY TRAMATIZED, HE HAS NOT SLEPT WELL SINCE THIS OCCURED AND WHEN HE DOES HE HAS DREAMS OF THE TRUCK GOING UP IN FLAMES. HE HAD JUST BE LOADED AND WAS PULLING FORWARD TO CHAIN DOWN STEEL COILS ON TRAILER, THE TRUCK HAD BEEN SHUT OFF. HE STATRED TRUCK AND PULLED FORWARD ABOUT 200 FEET WHEN HE HEARD SHOUTING, HE STOPPED SUT OFF TRUCK, AND JUMPED OUT AT THIS TIME FLAME WERE ERUPTING FROM UNDER HOOD ON DRIVER'S SIDE AS WELL AS FROM BEHIND DRIVERS SIDE BATTERY BOX AND STEP., AND UNDERNEATH THE FENDERWELL. BY THE TIME AN EXTINGUISHER WAS GOTTEN THERE WAS NO WAY TO SHOOT IT UNDERNEATH THE HOOD WITHOUT OPENING THE HOOD THEREBY SUPPLYING OXYGEN TO THE FIRE. AT THAT POINT WE WERE TOLD TO STAY BACK AND WAIT FOR FIRE TRUCKS WHICH WERE ON SITE. USS POSCO HAS THERE OWN FIRE DEPARTMENT. A FEW MINUTES INTO FIRE THE TRUCK RESTARTED ITSELF AND WAS SHOOTING FLAMES INTO RAFTERS ON THE BUILDING AND FREE REVING TO THE MAXIMUM IT COULD UNTIL IT DIED, AT THIS POINT EVERYONE RAN FOR COVER BECAUSE WE JUST WERE'NT SURE WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
762038
Machine
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