Driving my venerable old friend Unit 5, a 1999 GMC Suburban live truck on Rock Creek Parkway past the Kennedy Center on my way to a story tonight around 7:15pm, I began to smell smoke. I turned on the cabin lights to see an alarming amount of smoke filling the cabin. I slammed on the brakes, threw it into park, hit the strobes and bailed out.

As I exited I saw flames behind the driver’s seat. I ran around back, pulled a little gear out then went up to the driver’s rear door (which accesses the live unit’s rack rear) and opened it. Apparently an electrical short had caught my winter parka and raincoat on fire. I pulled them out and with that most of the fuel of the fire was removed. I swatted the burning wires a few times and they went out.

The DCFD arrived and put out my pile of burning gear. USPP did a report then I drove the truck back to the shop. It will be fine, just needs the racks rewired, probably take about a week.

What a day.