“Getting sued or fined or whatever the case may be…”
A car fire doesn’t offer much time for deliberation. Many people just drive past and thank their lucky stars it isn’t their vehicle going up in flames.
On a Houston, Texas roadside, one driver saw the black smoke, pulled over, and sprang into action. Thankfully, he had what he needed to put out much of the fire before the big red fire truck arrived.
His actions left some people wondering if he could be held liable for trying to help.
The driver in question was Ricky Gloria, owner of Propxpert Pressure Washing and Property Services (@propxpert), who filmed himself unpacking his equipment and running a hose to the fire scene that he pulled over to help with.
The clip has been viewed more than 2.9 million times.
It took about a minute of dousing the flames with water from his trailer tank, with Houston fire crews pulling up just as he was getting the blaze extinguished.
Gloria told Motor1 that he typically carries around 50 gallons of water or less on his trailer, partly due to weight limitations. He uses it to power wash driveways, homes, and commercial buildings. On this particular day, it became an improvised firefighting reservoir.
There wasn’t much calculation involved in the decision to stop, either. When asked whether he hesitated before pulling over, Gloria described it simply as “natural instinct.”
The video shows why quick action was essential, with flames visible around the front of the SUV as thick black smoke pours into the air. Gloria directs a steady stream of water toward the engine bay and front wheel area, gradually replacing the darker smoke with a cloud of steam.
By the time a fire engine rolls into view behind the SUV, most of the visible flames have been knocked down. Then Gloria backs off and gives the professionals room to work.
“I’m gonna let the firefighters do their job now,” he says in the clip. “Man, that thing’s still burning up. Must be a fuel line or something.”
Gloria’s guess about the source of the fire was just that. The cause isn’t clear from the video. What is clear is that firefighters arrived to find a pressure-washing contractor already spraying down the badly burned front end.
If Gloria expected much fanfare when the crew arrived, he didn’t get it.
One firefighter eventually asks him, “Power wash cars or what?”
“Uh, no, uh, soft wash,” Gloria replies. “I do exterior cleaning for houses. I do driveway, commercial buildings and stuff like that.”
The exchange ends amicably enough, with the firefighter thanking him. Gloria told Motor1 that the crew didn’t say much beyond what can be heard in the video.
That’s an important distinction from some of the more dramatic reactions the clip inspired online. Gloria wasn’t hauled away, fined, or given a dressing-down by first responders. The professionals simply took over and everybody went about their business.
Still, his approach is probably not one the average motorist should copy.
The US Fire Administration recommends that anyone dealing with a vehicle fire focus on getting everyone out, then move at least 100 feet away, call 911, and not attempt to fight the fire themselves. It also warns against opening the hood or trunk if a fire is suspected underneath, as doing so can feed the flames additional oxygen.
Vehicle fires aren’t especially rare, either. The National Fire Protection Association reports that US fire departments responded to roughly 196,000 vehicle fires each year from 2018-2022, roughly one every three minutes. Those fires caused an estimated $2.2 billion in direct property damage.
Naturally, commenters had plenty of cheers, and some concerns.
“Careful with the pressure, could scratch the paint,” one viewer joked.
Others wondered whether Gloria could somehow be sued or fined for stepping in. (Good Samaritans are generally exempt from liability for trying to help.)
Gloria didn’t seem especially concerned.
“Getting sued or fined or whatever the case may be was the least of my worries,” Gloria wrote in the comments. “When I see somebody that needs help my immediate response is to help no questions asked!”
Texas does have a Good Samaritan law, but it is written to focus on people who provide emergency care in good faith, shielding them from legal consequences unless their conduct is “wilfully or wantonly negligent.”
So the worst-case scenario for this kind of situation is less “you get fined for helping” and more conventional civil liability. If a bystander’s intervention worsened the damage, the vehicle owner or insurer could theoretically argue that the helper acted negligently and caused additional loss. There is nothing in Gloria’s video indicating that happened here.
Gloria told Motor1 this was the first situation like it he’d encountered in roughly three years of running his one-man power washing business.
Asked whether standing that close to a burning vehicle made him nervous about what might happen next, his answer was even shorter than his explanation for stopping: “Not at all.”
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– The Motor1.com Team