Fire Risk

Pieter de Waal tells us how to mitigate the risk of fire (and radiator damage) when driving in grassy areas

The many burnt-out vehicles abandoned in remote parts all over Africa are grim testimony to the fact that fire is a major risk when overlanding. The culprits are a combination of high ambient temperatures and tall grass, plus heat from the engine and (even more often) from the exhaust. How does one deal with this?

The fact is that even green, wet grass dries out very quickly when exposed to the high heat and ventilation of the exhaust areas under a vehicle. This happens within minutes, not hours. In certain circumstances, you may have to stop every 10 minutes to clean around the exhaust. The newer vehicles which are fitted with catalytic convertors are a lot worse, because of the extremely high temperatures associated with these units. Their owners should think twice about parking in a grassy area when it is hot, as the temperatures are high enough to start a fire remotely.

What to watch out for

There are two aspects to this problem. The first is to identify those places on the vehicle where grass will catch, be torn off, and will then build up close to the exhaust. Exhausts were never designed to prevent grass build-up at all. One can experiment with little guides, and also try smoothing over mounting points, as these are the real culprits. However, this is a rather hit-and-miss affair, as testing circumstances are rather limited.