A dad’s quick thinking actions aided his family’s lucky escape just minutes before their car caught fire.
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Scott Goon was in the middle of the morning school drop-off on the Sebastopol-Smythesdale Road when he saw a cloud of smoke issuing from his Volkswagen Amarok.
“I saw smoke and I thought it was fog,” Mr Goon said.
“I pulled over and noticed that smoke started coming out of the bonnet.”
His children Shae, 11, and Rowan,8, luckily escaped while Mr Goon helped Asha, 4, get out of the car.
“I took the children as far away from the car as possible,” Mr Goon said.
“There were flames – the fire started in the engine and it spread across the whole thing. It is a total write-off.”
Smytyhesdale Fire Brigade captain Alwyn Parker said firefighters responded quickly.
“Once the brigade arrived it took about 10 minutes to fully extinguish,” Mr Parker said.
Luckily, no one was injured.
“The fire brigade responded really quickly and neighbours came out to help so we are really grateful,” Mr Goon said.
The fire is believed to have been caused by an engine fault and Mr Goon said the loss of the vehicle would be covered by insurance.
He is warning drivers to be alert and prepared to act if they see smoke coming from their vehicle.