Firefighters Extinguish Morning Car Blaze

The Portsmouth Fire Department received a 911 phone call early Friday morning at 5:14 a.m., reporting a vehicle was on fire in the driveway of 71 Valley Lane.

The vehicle was reported to be in close proximity to a house. Due to the nearby home, Lt. Brendan Martin (the officer in charge) ordered a first alarm response of two engines and a ladder truck.

Crews arrived to find a Mercedes Benz fully engulfed in flames. The residents of 71 Valley Lane were removing an adjacent vehicle.  

Crews extinguished the fire using a water and foam mixture. The motor of this model of car contains parts constructed with magnesium; a material that, when burning, reacts violently with water.  

Firefighters overcame this issue by using a much larger volume of water than is normally used for a fire of that size.

Damage was contained to the single vehicle due to the work of Lt. Martin's responders.

The exact cause of the fire is unknown. A resident told firefighters they smelled an electrical burning odor after activating the remote key control. Flames then appeared from under the hood.