Duncan Sheridan flees car blaze seconds before dramatic explosion

A Mid West man escaped uninjured after his vehicle caught fire and exploded while travelling on an open road in Oakajee last week. On Friday, a Holden Commodore VS travelling north on North West Coastal Highway in Oakajee about 30km from Northampton caught on fire. Department of Fire and Emergency Services received a call just after 6pm of a car on fire with smoke billowing from the hood. The fire was believed to have ignited inside the engine bay of the vehicle. Howatharra Bush Fire Brigade and Geraldton Geraldton Volunteer Fire Rescue Service attended the scene. The man who escaped the blaze, Duncan Sheridan, said he believed it was an electrical fault that ignited the fire. In a Facebook post, Mr Sheridan said he thanked the road users who stopped to help, including a truck driver who offered to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. “She was too far gone and too dangerous to go near,” he wrote. “The seats and interior were on fire about 90 seconds after I left the vehicle. “The cops and I watched the front tyres and the battery go bang and the fuel take squirt flames while I waited for the fireys to arrive. “I lost an $800 pair of sunnies, a brand new three-pack of boxer shorts and a bit of cash in the centre console.” Jokes aside, Mr Sheridan said he was thankful no one was injured and surrounding shrubs did not catch alight. “The old girl ain’t coming back . . . A lot of time and money went into her, (it) was sad to watch all that work burn, but no one got hurt and no other property was damaged,” he posted. The fire was extinguished before 7.30pm.