On our way home from the American Legion Post 72 Father’s Day car show, BRR member Liz Higgins, after winning second place in her class, had a fuel leak that resulted in an engine bay fire in her 1964 Bug. Luckily, I was following her in my fire truck, and we were in communication via “walkie-talkie.” She told me she had a very strong odor of gasoline in the car, which I could smell inside the truck as well! I told her to pull over as soon as it was safe to do so. After positioning safely behind her, I lifted the hood and saw where the fuel line had pulled away from the carburetor, spraying the entire engine bay in gasoline. Within seconds, the engine bay exploded into flames and black smoke. Using a fire extinguisher from the fire truck, the blaze was quickly extinguished with minimal damage, mostly just burned wires and, fortunately, no blistered paint. The Bug was able to drive home under her own power where cleaning and repairs commenced.
