A KINGSWINFORD mum has told of the terrifying moment she had to drag her two young children to safety after her Vauxhall Zafira burst into flames.

Tara Casey, aged 27, told the News she had been driving along Pensnett Road, Brierley Hill, near the Dell Stadium, this morning (Monday) when she spotted smoke emanating from the glovebox of the car which she and her partner Jamie say they only bought six months ago.

The distraught couple, from Murdoch Drive, say the incident happened just three weeks after the seven-seater 2010 reg vehicle was given the all-clear by Vauxhall after reports that fires had broken out in the heating and ventilation systems of a number of Zafiras.

Tara, who had been in the car with two of her three young children, aged two and four months old, said: “I was just shocked. Ever since I heard about the fault I was always checking for a burning smell, but I didn’t smell anything – the car just started filling up with smoke so quickly.

“I just pulled over - half in the road and half in the layby. I was shaking and I got out so quickly; I didn’t even get the car off the road or turn the engine off. I just pulled my son out as quickly as I could – and by the time I got the other one out there were already flames coming from the glovebox.”

Luckily, she says, she’d pulled over by a garage – Griff’s Tyres – and two staff members raced out to help, one of whom grabbed a fire extinguisher.

Tara said: “It’s scary to think what could have happened. If I’d been on the motorway it could have escalated so much more quickly. I was lucky I was near a garage and that the man had a fire extinguisher. It could have been a lot worse.”

A spokesman for Vauxhall said the company was aware of the incident, which was attended to by Brierley Hill firefighters, and keen to inspect the car as soon as possible to find out what happened.

 


 

He stressed it was too soon to comment further in this case but said: "We know about the Vauxhall Zafira fires and we're writing to all 220,000 owners of these vehicles over the next few weeks, starting with the oldest ones, to get them in for an inspection and/or to replace parts to make them safe again."

He said the safety concerns relate to Zafira B model cars from 2005 to 2014 not the current Zafira Tourer and he added: "We're looking at every vehicle and we're going to put every vehicle back into a safe condition."

A statement on the car giant's website adds: "While the number of incidents is very low in proportion to the number of vehicles on the road, we take this issue very seriously.

"The safety of our customers is our number one priority. Our investigations so far have found a number of incidents have occurred due to previous repairs being performed improperly or using certain non-genuine parts."

Vauxhall Zafira B model owners experiencing problems with fan speeds or who notice any smouldering or burning smells are urged to contact their Vauxhall dealership immediately to make an appointment for a free inspection.