A photo was posted on the CP24 News website describing a fatal collision in Pickering, Ontario. The collision is under investigation by Ontario’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU). The SIU becomes involved when serious injuries occur that might be caused by police. Aside from the SIU investigation the photo above shows that a Purolator truck was one of the vehicles involved in the incident. Markings on the front and left side of the truck provide obvious signs that it had caught fire.
Little concern is being expressed by the news media and police investigators with respect to the number of fires that have been occurring after recent serious collisions. These fires are important because they are a genuine threat to the lives of persons who may not be able to exit a damaged vehicle. Being trapped inside a damaged vehicle is not an uncommon occurrence. Especially when the damage (crush) is significant. The damage is necessary in order to dissipate the kinetic energy of a crash. However sometimes such damage may entrap an occupant. Emergency personnel are needed to perform a variety of cutting and prying of the vehicle structure in order to free an occupant. But when a fire erupts it can engulf a vehicle before emergency personnel can arrive. Or, even if emergency personnel arrive, the fire may have spread so much that it may be too late. That is why it is crucially important to make note of collisions where fires erupt and to report those incidents to government agencies such as Transport Canada.
Transport Canada is the agency responsible for the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS). One of those standards governs the eruption of fires after motor vehicle collisions. Transport Canada must monitor the eruption of fires in real life collisions to determine whether additional actions are needed to protect the public. If Transport Canada is not notified that information is lost. Thus there should be inquiries made to determine if police agencies are following the proper procedures and notifying Transport Canada of these dangerous incidents.