The Day My Car Caught on Fire at a Gas Station

The day had started out bad enough. My significant other and I had been fighting. I was distraught and upset already. I pulled away from his house and started on my way home, realizing I would have to stop for gas right then, as I was driving basically on fumes. There was a gas station near the house so I made my way that direction. As I was pulling into the gas station drive-way, my car suddenly died. It rolled on as I steered it towards a pump, figuring that I was completely out of gas.

Let's back up to the day before, when I had a new battery put into my car. I had it done at a certain car place that I won't name...but starts with an "A" and ends in "Zone". Battery installation was included with purchase, along with a guarantee that the battery would last a few years. So, not thinking much of it, I let the worker install the battery and then I was on my way. It seemed so simple - buy battery, have battery installment, then go on my merry little way. Then that merry day ended and the next day came.

So there I was, rolling towards gas pumps in a car I thought was out of gas. My car comes to a stop and I see a couple dudes running towards me. Then I notice my car hood. My car hood that was now smoking. And I froze.

I understand the "deer caught in the headlights" saying. I basically was staring at my car hood like an idiot. It wasn't registering right away. My mind was elsewhere to begin with, and then I see something unthinkable. I opened my car door and just looked, still not acting. Luckily those running dudes understood that "fire" and "gas station" were a bad combination. One had a bucket in his hand. He was yelling at me to pop the hood. I did just that but not much else. I saw flames as the hood moved upward, and then the water came. Thank God for that guy. I shudder to think about it. I'm sure I would have acted within the next few moments, or another person would have grabbed for a fire extinguisher or something, but how many moments do you really have?