UNION COUNTY, N.C. -- A home was reduced to rubble Friday in Union County. A fire that started in the garage engulfed the house, causing $400,000 worth of damage.
The fire marshal said the cause can be traced to the BMW that was parked in the garage. It took firefighters about an hour to control the flames. No one was hurt.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), car fires account for more than 20% of all fires. Rosa Montez is a mechanic and owner of Charlotte’s Auto Repair Shop, she’s driven by anything engine-related, and she says car fires aren’t uncommon.
"I mean it happens, it’s always something that should be taken seriously," said Montez.
Her words can be backed up with statistics provided by the NFPA. In 2016, 173,000 cars went up in flames on the highway. That's nearly 474 per day, and that doesn’t include fires that spark inside garages.
“It could happen at any point, whether the car is idling, driving; it's just something that could happen,” said Montez.
Burning rubber is okay, but how do you prevent your parked car from burning to ash?
“You have a recall? You have a car? Make sure that you tend to it and get it serviced," Montez said.
Car recalls were down 40% in 2017, but one of the largest issued was BMW, pulling nearly a million cars off the road at risk of catching fire.
We could not confirm the BMW that sparked the fire in Union County was the same model that was recalled.