A Hamilton woman was shocked to find a car had burst into flames on her residential street on Tuesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tash Franko said she was on her way home from the doctors about 1pm when she noticed smoke coming from a white utility on Hamilton's Fyfe Street.
"I pulled over and rang my dad whose part of the CFA," she said.
"Suddenly something exploded and the whole ute was basically engulfed in the flames. There were a whole heap of bystanders trying to put it out with hoses and buckets of water.
"The driver had just got out of the ute. She was lucky.
"The car was parked directly underneath power lines."
Hamilton Fire Brigade captain Malcolm Anderson said the motorist pulled over after noticing smoke was coming from behind the cabin of the utility.
"She got out of the vehicle and fortunately was not injured," he said.
"The vehicle has received significant damage to it. The brigade arrived and with the assistance of police, the fire was put out after about 10 minutes.
"The driver is safe. The fire appears to have been caused by a mechanical issue."
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.