On Thursday, October 30, Timothy Haroutunian arrived at Citizen’s Bank to cash a thirty-dollar check. While he was inside the bank, he was informed by a banker that something was wrong with a red Jeep parked outside; Haroutunian’s Jeep. As he approached his car, he noticed that it was smoking.
“I ran over and opened the hood to see what was going on and a big burst of smoke went into my lungs,” recalled Haroutunian. “I jumped back and saw the engine was on fire.”
Haroutunian tried to get into his Jeep to save some items inside, but was pulled out by an observer who was saying, “It’s not worth it.”
The fire department and an ambulance were called, and a hyperventilating Haroutunian was led to a waiting ambulance to be checked for injuries.
By this time, flames had completely engulfed his Jeep with flames that were estimated to be ten feet high. Firemen worked to extinguish the flames, and it took almost a half hour to get the situation completely under control.
Haroutunian was advised to go to the hospital for further observation, but signed an Against Medical Advice form and was released.
Most discouraging for Haroutunian was when he discovered that his insurance did not cover fire damage and he would not be compensated for the value of his Jeep.
He is currently waiting to speak and meet with an investigator from the Jeep Manufacturer in Michigan to determine the cause of the fire, which at press time was still unknown. The inspector is curious to find out if the cause of the Jeep was a malfunction of the engine or if it was caused by general wear and tear of the Jeep.
No one else was injured in the incident and no other cars were involved. As soon as others anticipated that there might have been a problem, many of them moved their cars to a safer location.