Woman escapes burning vehicle without injury

It was a frightening experience for Natasha James, yesterday, as she stood helplessly and watched as flames erupted from under the hood of her Suzuki Grand Vitara, which had caught fire while she was in traffic.
James told OBSERVER media that she was heading to work and was on Factory Road when she observed smoke coming from the bonnet of the SUV. She said she initially dismissed the smoke because she did not see any alert on her dashboard.
“But the smoke kept intensifying, so I decided to pull off on the road by the Tamarind Tree in Potters, and when I realised I was blocking someone’s driveway, I pulled up and turned off the ignition and some ladies sitting on the side of the road said the vehicle was on fire,” James said.
The North Sound woman said she was uncertain as to what had caused the blaze, and was frozen by shock and delayed exiting the vehicle, but fled a
few moments later without trying to save her personal effects.
James said it seemed “like divine intervention” when a small fire truck turned the corner and the firemen took control of the situation before she could even pick up the phone to call.
“The fire truck just showed up out of the blue; it’s the smaller truck. Apparently, someone flagged them down and told them a vehicle was on fire and they came and found me. They didn’t have water but they got water and were able to put out the fire until the bigger truck came,” James explained.
OBSERVER media was on the scene when the truck from the St John’s Fire Station responded with personnel clad in full safety gear.
“They were so great and another bystander went into the vehicle and started pulling out all my personal documents and all my stuff because I was so shocked,” James added.
James said she was grateful for the assistance she received and thanked the fire department for the quick response that averted further tragedy.