Live ammo makes fighting vehicle fire dangerous

HILLSVILLE ― Firefighters had to keep their distance from a vehicle fire at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday evening.
The Ford Explorer had live ammunition inside.
The vehicle’s driver pulled off Interstate 77’s Exit 14 and into the parking lot at Hickory Hills Shopping Center when he smelled smoke coming from the Explorer, according to Andy Utt, a lieutenant with the Hillsville Fire Department.
The driver saw that fire and smoke was concentrated in the center of the dash. Therefore, the fire was thought to be electrical in origin.
Hillsville Fire Department and Carroll Fire Rescue members responded to the scene. The vehicle was engulfed in flames when they arrived.
The owner got many personal items out of the vehicle.
Emergency officials kept their distance from the fire, knowing there were several boxes of live ammunition still in the Explorer.
Utt said firefighters knocked the fire down from a distance and made sure that the vehicle cooled off before they approached it.
The vehicle was completely destroyed. There were no reports of other damage.
Firefighters remained on scene for about 30 minutes.