Fire location versus collision type
Each type of collision carries a different fire risk for each location and specific vehicle. Here is an example of such statistics from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database:
Crash Location | No Fire (%) | Fire (%) |
Front | 62 | 68 |
Left | 11 | 8 |
Right | 10 | 9 |
Rear | 6 | 6 |
In another study relating the type of collision to the location of fire origin, for 63,446 vehicles in the National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS CDS) from 1995 to 2004, the following data were presented:
Crash Location | Fuel Tank (%) | Engine Compartment (%) | Other (%) |
Frontal | 1 | 93 | 6 |
Nearside | 40 | 58 | 2 |
Farside | 26 | 24 | 51 |
Rear | 66 | 23 | 10 |
Rollover | 26 | 57 | 17 |
Total | 15 | 74 | 11 |
References