Fire Fire!!

[chris's 1ton]

On April 19th 2021, my Chevy Silverado 3500 caught fire, and the whole cab burnt before the fire department could put it out. I was pulling a gooseneck with an excavator in tow, the guy following me to the new job got up next to me and told me my truck was on fire, and I immediately started to pull over, when the truck immediately had the check engine light come on , engine died and I could smell brake fluid. I got out and discovered that the whole wheel well was burning , on the driver side. I popped the hood and grabbed my fire extinguisher and shot it in the gap in the hood, but by that point it had zero effect. Now I'm dealing with the insurance company, any ideas what caused it? And has anyone else experienced this?

[RugbyRef]

Holy crap!  First...glad your safe.  What year was your truck, Chris?  Dumb question, but could your parking brake have been engaged partially?  I know you would probably see the indicator, but I have heard of this happening before.

 

Edit - I see you have a 2020...disregard my question about the year.

Edited May 18, 2021 by RugbyRef

[Wxman]

Stuck caliper? Shouldn't, but it happens.  Although it was an unfamiliar vehicle it happened when I was driving once.  Never felt any pull or steering warnings, but it sure got hot.  No fire, but lots of smoke, melted grease out of  bearings and damaged wheel.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Wxman

[garagerog]

52 minutes ago, Wxman said:

Stuck caliper? Shouldn't, but it happens.  Although it was an unfamiliar vehicle it happened when I was driving once.  Never felt any pull or steering warnings, but it sure got hot.  No fire, but lots of smoke, melted grease out of  bearings and damaged wheel.

 

Sounds very plausible as the OP mentioned the smell of brake fluid and the fire appeared to have started near the wheel well. Given the heavy load the OP was towing he probably wouldn't have noticed any steering pull either.

[MTU Alum]

Usually involves fluid on a hot manifold.  

 

#iworkforGM 

[Geofront]

Gosh. I hope you are okay. As far as I can remember, in 2019, General Motors recalled 368,000 medium- and heavy-duty diesel trucks equipped with engine-block heaters for fire risks after 19 reports of fires. I think the engine block heater cords did a short circuit and caused a fire. Maybe now it would be the same problem. A friend of mine works at https://firerecruitmentaustralia.com.au, and he told me that lately, they turned off two such cars. Honestly, this worries me a bit because I also have a Chevy Silverado. However, I always have a fire extinguisher for such cases.
 

Edited September 1, 2021 by Geofront