Brownwood firefighters responded to a rare situation of two car fires at approximately the same time within just blocks of each other Monday evening.

The first fire was called out around 5:50pm at Melwood and Wesley.  A woman’s car had caught fire as she was driving, and she pulled into a church parking lot, safely exiting the smoking vehicle.  While firefighters were extinguishing the smoke, another call came in near the intersection of Lipscomb and Center Avenue.  This vehicle burst into flames shortly after the driver took off from a stop sign on Howard Payne campus.

According to Fire Marshal Buddy Preston, the driver of the first vehicle had noticed earlier that her car was low on oil and had added 5 quarts to the reservoir.  While she was driving, the oil splashed all over the engine compartment and caught fire, Preston said.

The car at Center and Lipscomb had a wire to the batter clamped with vice grips which caused the vehicle fire at Center Avenue, according to Preston.  The male driver was able to exit his vehicle as flames began to show from under the hood.

Both vehicles were a total loss and were not insured comprehensively according to Preston.  Both drivers were from the Brownwood area and no injuries were reported.

Pictured is the vehicle that caught fire at Center and Lipscomb on Howard Payne campus.