A 27-year-old Brownsville man and his three year old daughter were severely burned last month when their vehicle burst into flames.

 
The car accident occurred near Harrison and 7th Streets. The father shielded the daughter from the flames in the vehicle, and then pulled her out to safety. Both are recovering in the hospital.

  
On December 5, Brownsville Fire Marshall Ben Nunez said a Detroit expert on car fires who checked the damaged vehicle believes the fire was caused by an electrical short in the dashboard. The short may have originated in the stereo system. It is unclear what caused the fire to spread so quickly. The accident is still under investigation.

 
Car fires may be the result of faulty design. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, post-collision fires are one of the leading causes of vehicle-related deaths. These post-crash fires are often due to mechanical defects including failure to incorporate anti-leak valves, failure to include fuel-filler tube-check valves, failure to protect fuel lines, misrouting of fuel lines, inadequate shielding of the fuel tank, and dangerous placement of the fuel tank in the vehicle’s crush zone. Modern vehicles include numerous electrical devices that may short circuit.  When cars are made of highly combustible materials, fires can quickly spread.

 
Learn more about vehicle fires, and about what you can do if your vehicle catches on fire. If you’ve been involved in a vehicle fire, contact the South Texas accident attorneys at The Cowen Law Group at 1-877-385-1282. We can help.