Bird-nesting can cause a hot time for your car

Pay attention to those birds! I would like to share a recent experience that happened to me and my family. Heading out for dinner on Saturday night, we stopped at a gas station for a few items.

While my wife went in the store I noticed smoke coming from the right front of our vehicle. When I got out to look, I saw flames in the lower engine compartment behind the tire. I got my daughter out and was able to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher.

I had the fire department come to check and make sure that the fire was completely out. What they found was a bird's nest up against the exhaust manifold that had caused the fire.

Luckily the damage was minimal and we were able to proceed out to dinner. My wife had mentioned that she had noticed a bird flying out from under the vehicle sometimes.

So if you notice a bird flying out from your vehicle, you may want to raise the hood and look around before driving. Our situation could have been much worse.

I would like to say thank you to the firemen, Phil, Tony and Michael who helped make sure the car was OK and cleaned the fire extinguisher material from the car. And also thanks to the young man who I believe was working at the fast food establishment next door for grabbing a fire extinguisher for me.

LARRY WALSH
Burlington