The Fire: What happened?

Incidents happen for specific reasons, whether people are willing to admit it or not, and are ALL preventable.

The purpose of this thread is to share what happened with my car, so that others may be able to prevent similar things happening to themselves.

As a quick recap, this is the result of the incident on September 1:



I will be reviewing the incident in 5 parts:

1. Events before going to the track
2. Events at the track
3. The incident
4. Events after the incident
5. Learning points

Events Before Going To The Track

I spent the morning of Sept. 1 making some changes to wiring under the dash to data log nitrous fuel pressure and nitrous bottle pressure with my laptop. I also made some changes to facilitate nitrous flow-testing with the system mounted to the car and the engine turned off. (Normally this is done off the car, but I wanted to get "real" results) At about 2pm all the wiring was complete, and I set up the video camera to start doing some flow-testing. I went through a number of test routines with only the nitrous pulsoids connected just to prove the electronics were working properly, then stopped to prepare to go to the drag strip. I never re-connected the fuel pulsoids.

At about 4pm I had the car up on jack stands and was doing an inspection of the underside of the car to make sure everything was OK. I pressurized both fuel systems, and opened the nitrous bottles to check for any leaks in the engine compartment. I found a minor leak on a nitrous fitting which I was able to fix by tightening it. Everything appeared to be OK, so I started loading the trailer.

Seeing that it was warm out, I considered taking my open face helmet to the track instead of the closed face helmet, but decided to stick with what I'd been wearing all year with one exception.

The previous weekend, I had brought "Mechanics" gloves to the race track with me because it was fairly cool first thing in the morning . (Dash said it was 34 degrees F) I wore them both times that I took the car to the line, and actually liked the idea of wearing them. On the afternoon of September 1, I decided to wear them until a new pair of proper fire-proof driving gloves could be bought. It just seemed like the right thing to do, even though I had not been wearing gloves throughout the season. (Check my previous in-car videos...I'm not wearing gloves) So I took an extra pair of Mechanics gloves to the track with me that night.


Events At The Track

When I got to the track, I spent a bit of time talking to the officials and medic at the starting line before unloading my car. It was actually warm enough out, that I was considering not wearing some of my safety gear. I remember the last thing I said to the staff at the line though: "Well I've got to go put my fire suit on and get the car ready to go". Nobody has ever given me a hard time about this even though I had much more "safety gear" than required.

I went through my normal warm up routine with the car, which is letting it idle until I see 140 degrees, then take the car for a quick drive up and down the return road. (Allowed at this track) Because I'm not "racing" the car, I just wear street clothes for this and never see over 30 MPH.

With the car warmed up I put the full driving suit on, and strapped myself into the car. I should note that I buckle the full 6 point harness up, (Some people don't do the sub belts) and I also put the window net up. I thought I was ready to go, so I headed for the staging lanes for the first pass of the night.


The Incident

The fire didn't happen on the first pass, but as I'll explain, the "problem" started here.

I did a mild burn out, then moved to the line with the Nitrous system armed.

Launching the car, it felt pretty soft, but I had set the nitrous to come in after 1 second with only a 30hp shot so I didn't think anything of it. In 2^nd gear the car again felt really soft, but I just assumed that the nitrous system hadn't come on due to a bad setting or a safety measure had intervened. (Both have happened before) Still, I had set the nitrous controller for just a 75hp shot with 0.5 second delay so I wasn't sure if the car was just slower than I was expecting it to be. (I've used a LOT more nitrous in 2^nd gear before) The engine wasn't stuttering or missing, and the car basically felt like it did on an N/A run. I shifted into 3^rd gear, where the nitrous was set to a 135hp shot and the car felt funny and started to stutter and pop. (Detonation) I immediately got off the throttle and coasted to the 1/8 mile turn-off.

I knew before I had even turned off the track that I had forgotten to plug the fuel pulsoids back in. The fuel system had good pressure, which the Nitrous controller could see, but there was no safety measure in place for forgetting to plug in the pulsoids.

Driving down the return road, I free-rev'd the engine a couple of times and the engine seemed ok. I then put it in 1rst gear and gave it a shot, and again the engine seemed OK. I did however smell something "odd" so I decided to give the engine a good look over in the pits. I remember thinking, OK, you've got to pull the plugs now....

As I pulled into my pit spot, a friend walked up and asked how it was going. I looked him right in the eye and said: "I think I just hurt the engine". I popped the hood, plugged in the fuel pulsoids, then gave the rest of the engine a quick visual. Still with my helmet on ect., I decided to check the engine out on the track by making another pass. I never pulled the plugs...

I got back into the car, buckled myself in, and headed to the staging lanes. I left the nitrous controller setup with the "soft" settings from the 1rst pass, as I thought that would be a safe place to start.

I did a normal burnout, staged the car, and launched normally with a bit of clutch slip to smooth the hit to the drive-train. The nitrous came on after 1 second just as I was halfway through first gear, and I thought "OK, this is working fine". 2^nd gear, and the 75 shot felt good. 3^rd gear felt a bit soft, but again I had run more nitrous than a 135 hp shot normally at that point, so I stayed in it. The engine was running without any sputters or misses, so I thought everything was OK. I shifted into 4^th gear with a 180 hp shot programmed, but the engine didn't feel that strong. Midway through 4^th there was a quick stutter followed by a bang and then I saw flames coming up over the windshield. I got off the throttle and onto the brakes with the transmission in neutral while the engine seemed to be bouncing off the rev limiter. I reached around the steering wheel and turned off the key/ignition and it continued to free rev. Then the back end of the car seemed to get really loose and I could barely see anything through the flames coming over the windshield so I focused on getting the car stopped safely in the grass. Just before I came to a stop I started switching off the steering pump, accusump ect...but I never finished.

The car stopped and I pushed the fire button as flames started to lick up over the dash. When nothing happened, I unbelted and reached around the side of my seat with my left arm to flip the arm switch, but I switched it to the "TEST" position, not the "ARM" position. I again I hit the activation button and nothing happened.

I then realized that nitrous was hissing pretty badly in the engine compartment, so I reached over with both hands and shut the valves on the bottles. I could feel the heat on my left arm and wrist, so I knew I didn't have much time to try activating the fire system system.

Then the fire flared up into my face as the driver's door was opened by a person trying to save me. I punched down the window net, and threw my body out through the opening just as this person grabbed onto me and pulled me out onto the ground. He was shouting "your on fire" so I rolled on the ground while he helped pat out the fire. (He was wearing gloves) I got up and we both moved away from the car as the track staff arrived and secured the area.

I remember looking back at the car as the medics were giving me first aid; the tail lights were still on....the car still had power....


Events after the Incident

I was rushed to the hospital right from the track, and was being treated by a nurse within 5 minutes. A couple of hours later I was at home starting what would become 3 days of nearly non-stop 24hr burn treatment. Looking back on it now, the first 3 days were the most important in my recovery. I'm not belittling all the other work done after the first 3 days, because there was a ton of it, but the first 3 days I feel were very significant in how successful my recovery has been.

Back at the track, I'm told that the car burned for more than an hour. With flames more than 10ft high from the car, I don't blame anyone for staying clear of the chassis. The last thing I would have wanted was someone else getting hurt from my mistakes....

Once the flames died down, the car was eventually sprayed down, but it was still very hot. They had one heck of a time getting the car loaded onto the flat deck.

The car was kept at the wrecker's compound for 2 days before I had a chance to think about doing something with it. I wasn't able to leave home, so I called on a few friends to supervise the move from the compound back to the shop. I had assumed I'd be able to put the car in the shop and work on it when I was healthy again. I had severely underestimated the toxic fumes from the car....

When the car arrived at the shop, it was put down onto dolly platforms in the parking lot and I got a phone call. The fumes were so bad that my friends had concerns about it even sitting in the parking lot! We decided to leave it outside for the night and to see how it was in the morning.

2 days later I was able to view the car, and the smell was BAD. I was told that it was actually a LOT better from when the car had first arrived, so I can only imagine what I'd put my friends and neighbors at the shop through.

It was another week before I could wear a respirator mask to safely start tearing down the car, and even then it was pretty toxic stuff to be working with. For example, I moved the front wheel hubs into the shop, and we could smell it. So I took them back outside and washed them down with soap which worked fine, but I wasn't going to be able to do that with everything. The parts I wanted to keep, I put in sealed storage containers with baking soda, and it worked. I've now got a lot of large storage containers....



I know a lot of people would like to know what exactly happened to the engine that caused the fire. I will get to that, but it's not as important as the learning points listed below.

Establish and use pre-race mechanical checklists to make sure your vehicle is ready for the track. If possible, have 2 people be involved in signing off for all the check-points so that mistakes can be found. If you don't have time to do this, you shouldn't be racing.

Establish and use pre-race driver checklists to make sure all safety measures are being worn and/or electronically/physically activated

Practice emergency scenarios at the shop, and at the track. Involve track personnel if possible.

Give track staff a "tour" of the car and all of it's safety features. Passing technical inspection doesn't mean that everyone knows where your external and internal master shut-off switch is.

Buy and use the best personal safety equipment you can afford. Cover your whole body; there are many "affordable" packages to start out with. There are also some cost effective ways of upgrading. For example if you can't afford a 3 layer fire suit, consider a 2 layer with nomex underwear. I had a basic fire suit, which worked, but I now wish I had invested in better. My face for example would have been in better shape if I'd worn a nomex belaclava.

In the event of a fire, put your health before the car's health. Turn off the master shut off, (secures car), activate fire system, (buys you time to safely get out of the car), get out of the car calmly and efficiently. (As you have practiced)

If you have to work with a car chassis that has burned, give it at least a week to "breath". Wear a proper respirator and protective clothing. The ash is toxic.

I'll be covering the tear down of the chassis/engine shortly, the evidence supports what I've hinted at previously. To start with, I wanted to focus on the safety aspects of the incident that I made mistakes with.

wow ..crazy..damn pulsoid plugs! and nitrous! and fire suppresion system!

I dont even know what to expect! Is it safe to use the same chassis?

GO PEI!

crazy story...

Learning the hard way, sometimes the only way... we've all had our share.
Thank you for cataloging this in such a way that this entire subforum can learn from it. I expect this thread will be used as a safety proposal for many of our builds.
Such basic preventions, but great guidelines...

Great guidelines Adam!!

I'm very happy to hear that you're okay. After your "incident at the track" thread, Julio and I were out and we were talking about how had that been us, we would NOT have had nearly as much safety equipment, and the outcome would NOT have been so fortunate. This has been such an eye opener for me, and it's definitely made me realize the reality of danger in such a fun sport. Again, I wish you a very speedy and easy recovery, and I can't wait to see what you end up doing with the car

Thanks for posting, man. I've been waiting for updates! Good post.

Definitely good guidelines I know I'll be following if I ever make it to a track.

I'm still glad on one was killed!

Wow man, that is crazy.

Sorry For my ignorance but what are pulsoid plugs?

Damn felt like i was there in the drivers seat reading your post. Crazy shiet and glad you are still here.

Alan l.

Originally Posted by pei330ci

Establish and use pre-race mechanical checklists to make sure your vehicle is ready for the track. If possible, have 2 people be involved in signing off for all the check-points so that mistakes can be found. If you don't have time to do this, you shouldn't be racing.

Establish and use pre-race driver checklists to make sure all safety measures are being worn and/or electronically/physically activated

Practice emergency scenarios at the shop, and at the track. Involve track personnel if possible.

Give track staff a "tour" of the car and all of it's safety features. Passing technical inspection doesn't mean that everyone knows where your external and internal master shut-off switch is.

Buy and use the best personal safety equipment you can afford. Cover your whole body; there are many "affordable" packages to start out with. There are also some cost effective ways of upgrading. For example if you can't afford a 3 layer fire suit, consider a 2 layer with nomex underwear. I had a basic fire suit, which worked, but I now wish I had invested in better. My face for example would have been in better shape if I'd worn a nomex belaclava.

Sounds like what we do on the army.

When I go to a HPDE, I always go through the tech sheet x2 before I even take the car to the shop to get officially tech'd. Then I go through a mental checklist before and after each run at the track...I guess I should write that down.

The lack of a thorough inspection process makes me nervous when I go to my local 1/4 mile track. Their tech includes just make sure your car has 4 wheels and giving you a number.

Glad that you are recovering!

Originally Posted by Alan L.

Damn felt like i was there in the drivers seat reading your post. Crazy shiet and glad you are still here.

Alan l.

no kidding, good read, i could smell the breeze and the calm anticipation from my own experiences.

i hope you heal up quickly man

WOW. Dont know what to say but Thank God your okay and alive. What exactly are you going to re use.

Originally Posted by MachRc

wow ..crazy..damn pulsoid plugs! and nitrous! and fire suppresion system!

I dont even know what to expect! Is it safe to use the same chassis?

GO PEI!

It was all user error....nothing wrong with the equipment.

I've had a number of experts involved in assessing the chassis as a street car, and as a race car. Everyone that has seen the chassis has given the thumbs up. (Many are amazed at how well the frame stood up)

Originally Posted by Dirty Tool

crazy story...

It was a life changing event.

Originally Posted by bluejeansonfire

Learning the hard way, sometimes the only way... we've all had our share.
Thank you for cataloging this in such a way that this entire subforum can learn from it. I expect this thread will be used as a safety proposal for many of our builds.
Such basic preventions, but great guidelines...

Your welcome, there's much more to come that I think you specifically will gain a lot from.

Originally Posted by Activ3

Great guidelines Adam!!

I'm very happy to hear that you're okay. After your "incident at the track" thread, Julio and I were out and we were talking about how had that been us, we would NOT have had nearly as much safety equipment, and the outcome would NOT have been so fortunate. This has been such an eye opener for me, and it's definitely made me realize the reality of danger in such a fun sport. Again, I wish you a very speedy and easy recovery, and I can't wait to see what you end up doing with the car

Thanks!

Wait and see....

Originally Posted by aggieE46

Thanks for posting, man. I've been waiting for updates! Good post.

Your welcome.

Originally Posted by dfjaws

Definitely good guidelines I know I'll be following if I ever make it to a track.

I'm still glad on one was killed!

It was a close call...but lots of things went right. I have a lot of "new" ideas that I'd like to work with...

Originally Posted by TitanSilber ZHP

Wow man, that is crazy.

Cheer up man! This was a great learning experience!

Originally Posted by Blacke46bmws

Sorry For my ignorance but what are pulsoid plugs?

There are valves that control the flow of nitrous and fuel to the engine; they are called "pulsoids" because they pulse on and off. I used quick disconnect plugs on them to make the system easier to work on.

Originally Posted by Alan L.

Damn felt like i was there in the drivers seat reading your post. Crazy shiet and glad you are still here.

Alan l.

I'm glad to be here too.

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

Sounds like what we do on the army.

When I go to a HPDE, I always go through the tech sheet x2 before I even take the car to the shop to get officially tech'd. Then I go through a mental checklist before and after each run at the track...I guess I should write that down.

The lack of a thorough inspection process makes me nervous when I go to my local 1/4 mile track. Their tech includes just make sure your car has 4 wheels and giving you a number.

Glad that you are recovering!

The funny thing is that I've made a career out of creating checklists and safety measures...time to step it up at home.

Originally Posted by Furball

no kidding, good read, i could smell the breeze and the calm anticipation from my own experiences.

i hope you heal up quickly man

I'm healing up really well...but the last bit always takes the longest. I'm just glad to have the scabs off my face....

Originally Posted by n2Bimmer

WOW. Dont know what to say but Thank God your okay and alive. What exactly are you going to re use.

I'm doing great!

The salvage process is still ongoing.....wait and see...

wow, glad to hear ur doing well. definitely add more pics, how does the interior look now? I'm interested to see where the fire started burning into the interior

Originally Posted by JK1150

wow, glad to hear ur doing well. definitely add more pics, how does the interior look now? I'm interested to see where the fire started burning into the interior

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=702808

Tear down of the chassis started on September 11th.





There were a few surprises, this is the driver's side engine mount:



Front control arm:



Where's my engine mount?



Transmission not looking good:




Engine tear-down started September 14th, after being removed from the chassis. It really stunk up my shop:

I really feel like im gonna throw up..difficult pictures..

I assume this is not covered under your insurance?

Adam, great to see you back tackling this....

I have to ask though, is it really worth trying to salvage several components? Aren't there too many unknowns with respect to parts' integrity, either engine-wise or body/frame/rollcage-wise. To me (thats not saying much), despite you have invested a lot of time & money into unique things such as careful machining of the engine and construction of the rollcage, wouldn't you have to re-do it anyway, or at least some of it?? Wouldn't you have better peace of mind starting with new/used parts not subjected to such conditions?

Best of luck, looking forward to the upcoming build!