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BMW 5 Series Patrol Car Goes up in Flames, Sets Fire to Vehicle it Was Attending

How’s that for “serve and protect”? A patrol car “spontaneously” went up in flames in Bromley, London, and in so doing, set fire to the vehicle it had come to assist after an on-the-road collision.
BMW 5 Series police car spontaneously goes up in flames, sets fire to another car 9 photos
Photo: Twitter / Bromley Police
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The incident was captured on camera, and the police have also released photos from the scene. The patrol car was a BMW 5 Series, and an investigation is underway to determine what caused the fire. The officers inside were lucky to notice smoke coming out, and were thus able to exit the vehicle before the flames spread.

“As has been reported elsewhere, the car fire last night was our area car which spontaneously caught fire whilst on scene at a call,” Bromley police writes on Twitter. “Contrary to social media reports, the vehicle had not been involved in a pursuit or collision. Nobody was hurt, cause of fire is not known.”

As the flames engulfed the police car, they also spread to the other vehicle, which appears to be a white SUV. It had been pulled over on the side of the road, after a minor collision. In the video at the bottom of the page, posted on social media by Cop Humour UK, you can hear someone asking “Say, mind if we get a lift back?” Presumably, that’s one of the cops, chatting with whoever is holding the camera.

According to online reports, those involved in the original accident had to be taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Meanwhile, “the police vehicle, a marked BMW 5 Series, will be examined by the Met's Fleet Services to determine exactly what caused the issue,” a Metropolitan Police Service spokesman says.

Last November, BMW issued a massive recall over fire risk, but as of right now, it is not known whether the patrol car was among the model included in the recall.



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About the author: Elena Gorgan
Elena Gorgan profile photo

Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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