AN elderly man who placed sacks over his car's motor to stop it from freezing in winter had to flee when the car caught fire as he was driving in Alexandra yesterday.
One block of Centennial Ave was closed as a precaution at 1.50pm as the burning 1988 Ford Telstar Ghia was parked across the road from the Caltex petrol station.
The Alexandra Fire Brigade was at the scene for about 30 minutes but Senior Station Officer Glen Gray said several people with fire extinguishers ''had it pretty much out in the time before we got here''.
The man forgot to remove the sugar sacks he placed over the motor in winter and drove it from Clyde to Alexandra, Mr Gray said.
He was lucky to get as far as Alexandra before the sacks caught fire.
Senior Sergeant Ian Kerrisk, of Alexandra, said the driver was ''upset but uninjured''.
He praised the quick action of passers-by who came to the rescue with fire extinguishers.
One of those was Paul Miller, who was working at Alexandra Auto Electrical and noticed ''thick smoke wafting past''.
''I grabbed the fire extinguisher and headed outside, saw the old man climbing out of the vehicle and smoke and flames under the bonnet,'' Mr Miller said.
