Small van in Telfs: Fire started by disinfectant!

Small van in Telfs: Fire started by disinfectant!

On the evening of March 30, 2025, there was a dramatic vehicle fire on the A12 motorway in the direction of Kufstein, in the municipality of Telfs. At around 6:50 p.m., the driver of a pickup truck noticed that the windshield was fogging up and the dashboard was giving off increasing heat. These signs led to the discovery of smoke and fire in the dashboard of the vehicle, which was loaded with around 200 liters of diesel. The cause of the fire quickly became clear: a burst bottle of disinfectant in the glove compartment had started the fire Fireworld reported.

Despite the quick reaction of the driver, who tried to fight the flames with a hand-held fire extinguisher, the attempt was unsuccessful. The fire quickly spread to the passenger side of the vehicle, further escalating the situation. There were also other dangerous materials in the vehicle, including a barrel with around 60 liters of heating oil and several car tires, some of which were loaded with rims. While a floor-covered barrel of windshield antifreeze was successfully unloaded, the vehicle and the highway sustained significant damage.

Use and consequences

The Telfs volunteer fire department was quickly on the scene with five vehicles and 28 emergency services. She received support from the Red Cross with three vehicles and three police patrols. In order to coordinate the measures, the A12 motorway was closed for around 20 minutes. Afterwards, traffic could only continue to flow in one lane until around 8:30 p.m. The van suffered a total loss, which also affected the roadway, which was damaged over a stretch of about 10 meters.

Vehicle fires like the one on the A12 are not uncommon and are recorded in around 15,000 vehicles every year in Germany alone. These fires can be caused by a variety of causes, including traffic accidents, overheating brakes, or defective vehicle parts, as stated in the article Vehicle fires on Wikipedia emerges. Protecting human lives and acting correctly at the scene of an accident is of the utmost importance.

Fire hazards and prevention

The dangers posed by vehicle fires are diverse. Smoke gases can endanger not only the driver, but also the traffic behind. Fears of explosions or not having hand fire extinguishers with you often prevent you from taking the necessary immediate measures. There are therefore efforts to improve safety, such as the introduction of mandatory fire extinguishers in some countries and basic instruction on initial measures in the event of vehicle fires in driving license training.

The incident on the A12 vividly illustrates the dangers that vehicle fires can pose and the need for rapid and effective firefighting. It remains to be hoped that such events can be avoided in the future through preventive measures and education.