One year ago today, it was reported that a Bradford woman spoke of her shock after her ‘dream car’ caught fire twice in two days.
Naomi Bannister said her 2021 Audi A3 electric/hybrid car, which she bought only four months prior, caught fire twice – once in the early hours of last Wednesday morning and again on Thursday evening.
Ms Bannister said: “A neighbour heard pops and bangs and the whole street was covered in black smoke.
“We woke up to noises from the sirens when the fire service turned up.
“The fire was hard to put out. The fire service put a cover over it.
She said it was lucky the fire did not reach the full tank of petrol, adding that if it did “it could have been a whole lot worse”.
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) said: “We used a water blanket and an EV blanket.
“WYFRS sent fire appliances from Odsal and Fairweather Green.
“The Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water were contacted. A revisit was arranged for later in the day.
Ms Bannister said when she arrived home the following day, the car was “making a funny noise and started hissing”.
She said she smelt fuel and the car caught fire again.
The fire service confirmed crews were called to the street again, just before 7pm the next day to the vehicle on fire.
A spokesperson said: “The battery system was the problem on the first visit, and on the second visit, it appears to be the 12-volt system
“The owner has been told to call back if it happens again.”
Ms Bannister said: “The night before the first fire started the car had a mind of its own. The electrical systems (screen and sound system) were playing up.
“It was having a hissing fit.”
“I never had any problems before then. It was my dream car and everything I ever wanted. It was my first electric car,” she added.
Ms Bannister has, however, taken her concerns about the car to her dealer and Audi UK to “look at what happened”.
A spokesperson for Audi UK said at the time: “Customer safety is Audi’s number one priority.
“A detailed vehicle investigation will need to be undertaken in order to fully understand the root cause of the fire, during this time, customer support will be offered by local Audi partners.”
This story was first reported on by Daryl Ames on August 22, 2024.
This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s Editors’ Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here
© 2001-2025. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, 1st Floor, Chartist Tower, Upper Dock Street, Newport, Wales, NP20 1DW | 01676637 |
Data returned from the Piano ‘meterActive/meterExpired’ callback event.
As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles.
Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services.
These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community.
It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.
