Car fire in northeast Lincoln Tuesday

A pickup caught fire Tuesday evening. It happened in northeast Lincoln at 48th and Adams streets.

The driver of a ’02 Chevy S10 said he saw smoke coming out of the trucks vents while waiting at a red light.

The smoke intensified and he immediately pulled into an empty parking lot just east of the intersection. 

He opened the hood of the truck and the flames erupted. Bursting out and forcing him to stumble and fall back.

No injuries were reported to anyone involved. 

Fire fighters were on scene within minutes to oust the fire. Fire inspector Thomas Schmidt says an electrical malfunction under then hood caused the fire. 

In case this happens and you aren’t sure what to do, inspector Schmidt had this to say, “First thing I would say to do is if you are driving and you start to smell smoke is to pull over, get off the main road and just get out of your vehicle. Don’t try to fight the fire a lot of people can get burned that way. Just call 9–1–1 and let the fire department come and do what they do best.”

The truck is considered to be a complete loss and the owner said he had full insurance coverage. 

Inspector Schmidt said this isn’t uncommon in older vehicles and it doesn’t hurt to have a professional take a look under your hood to make sure nothing looks out of place.