KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Was a parked car the cause of a fire that destroyed an entire carport? That is the question fire officials continue to investigate.
If that does turn out to be the case, this wouldn’t be the first time BMW is at the center of a situation like this.
Elisa Mulkey was sleeping when she heard firefighters start banging on her door. She ran as quickly as she could to safety. Mulkey’s car was completely ruined.
Another neighbor we talked to got to his car and moved it in time as the fire under this BMW ignited nearly the entire carport.
“It was pretty chaotic. Everybody was running around. We were just trying to get everybody out of the parking lot,” Mulkey said.
You can see just in images and videos provided to FOX4 on how devastating the flames were.
Neighbors say in less than 10 minutes things went from 0 to 100 quicker than they ever thought possible.
“How fast fires can spread and can cause damage, how destructive they are and how they can negatively impact people’s lives,” Mulkey said.
Mulkey’s car was destroyed in this fire along with two others including a BMW. In the video viewed by FOX4 of the apartment complex surveillance footage, it appears the BMW starts smoking.
Quickly after that, a fire starts under the car, and before you know it, the sights witnessed by those that live at this apartment complex show the power of this fire.
According to the Associated Press, since 2017 BMW has recalled millions of cars including the make of this BMW, which is a 3 Series, due to a fire risk.
The AP reported that this happens while the vehicles are being driven or soon after they are parked.
KCFD says no one was hurt in this fire and they are still investigating the cause.
But Mulkey and neighbors we spoke with off camera say after viewing the video, it’s clear where this fire started.
There was one thing that wasn’t ruined in the midst of melted tires and broken scaffolding that’s helping her mind to ease.
“There was a small picture frame of Jesus Christ himself my mother gifted it to me years ago and I’ve always kept it in my car,” Mulkey said. “To see that the picture frame, the picture itself, nothing was damaged in that was a glimmer of hope.”
FOX4 reached out to BMW by email, over the phone and text and we are waiting for a response.