BELMONT, N.C. — WCNC Charlotte's weather forecaster Larry Sprinkle is safe after a car caught fire at the Belmont Christmas Parade, Belmont Police confirmed.
Sprinkle has been riding in the same car with the same driver in the same parade for a decade now, so this incident was quite shocking to him.
The 1962 Thunderbird, which Sprinkle had been riding in during the parade, caught fire while the parade was happening.
Before it burst into flames, Sprinkle said he kept smelling exhaust while they were driving. He even cracked a joke to the nearby firefighters saying "sorry we're polluting so much!"
A few minutes later, Sprinkle said he heard someone yell "Get out of the car!" and he started to see all the smoke coming from the Thunderbird.
"I took one step out, and flames are just pouring out of the engine," Sprinkle told WCNC Charlotte after confirming he was safe. "Luckily, there were firefighters and police officers right there. They got everyone out of the way."
Belmont Police confirmed a firetruck was nearby and was able to put out the fire. Witnesses saw lots of people using fire extinguishers to stop the engine fire.
Nobody was hurt in the incident. Sprinkle said firefighters pushed the car out of the way and the parade continued.
"I jumped in with the mayor of Belmont and finished up the parade," Sprinkle said.
The cause of the car fire is unknown at this time.
Sprinkle has been participating in the Belmont Christmas Parade for 30 years.
Contact Larry Sprinkle at lsprinkle@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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