Tracker saves family from potential deadly blaze - Tracking device continues to work despite vehicle being on fire

A family in Boksburg is today (January 21, 2010) recounting its good fortune after their Tracker saved them from what could have been a fatal blaze at their home.

The incident happened at approximately 05h00 this morning when Tracker contacted the family after receiving a ‘battery disconnect’ warning signal from one of their vehicles. The family was then asked to check if the vehicle was safe.

‘When our customer looked outside, she noticed that it looked particularly “misty” in the area around her car and decided to go outside for a closer look. As she approached the vehicle she realised that what she had thought was mist was in fact smoke billowing out from the vehicle’s engine bay. She rushed back inside and, together with the help of her family, was able to use a household fire extinguisher to put out the blaze,’ explains Gareth Crocker, Tracker’s Communications Manager.

But the drama did not end there.

A few minutes later, Tracker called again, saying that they had received another warning signal from the vehicle. As the family returned to the car they noticed that the blaze had flared up again. Fortunately, they were again able to extinguish the flames.

The vehicle in question had failed to start the day before and had to be towed home from a neighbour’s house, due to a suspected electrical fault. It had also just been filled with fuel and was parked directly alongside the family’s second vehicle which also had a full tank of fuel.

‘The customer believes that had the fire been allowed to continue it may well have spread to both the second car and the house, and possibly even to her family who were sleeping at the time,’ says Crocker.

Damage to the car has been limited to the engine bay, the dashboard and some upholstery near the front seats.

‘We’re used to our devices tracking down stolen and hijacked vehicles and helping people in medical emergencies, but preventing a potential deadly fire is probably a first for us,’ comments Crocker. ‘Our engineering team is particularly proud that our SkyTrax device and its sensors continued to function despite the fire. A great deal of effort is put into ensuring that our devices are robust enough to handle the most testing conditions – a point underlined by the fact that we have, over the years, recovered several vehicles submerged under water.’