Anyone who has witnessed a machine catching fire would tell you that it can be a frightening experience, the sheer speed and ferocity of the ensuing fire really takes some believing.
I have only experienced this once in my operating career when in 1984/85 I was operating a JCB 805B Turbo excavator on a site in Waterlooville Hampshire.
We had all gone into the site canteen for breakfast and I was tucking into my bacon & eggs when one of the lads rushed in to tell me my machine was on fire! To which I promptly replied "oh right now pull the other one, it's got bells on" but a quick look out of the window confirmed that sadly it was true.
My gleaming machine had been turned into a write off in the space of 15 minutes, truly a shocking sight.
Anyway by way of example here are my favourite top five burnout photos.
At number 5:
This Kobelco excavator is well away and heading for the scrap yard no doubt.
At number 4:
This Caterpillar "rubber duck" is getting a bit of a roasting!
At number 3:
This massive Liebherr mining shovel is feeling the heat!
At number 2:
This shot of a Komatsu PC1800 excavator shows just how ferocious these fires can be!
At number 1:
This Caterpillar 225 is totally engulfed in flames.
Comments (1)
Great fire photos. Specially last and second from top was terrible.
Posted by dsi r4 | December 1, 2009 9:52 AM
Posted on December 1, 2009 09:52