A truck driver lost his life when a plastic kettle melted and set fire to the cab of his prime mover. The driver had stopped at a truck bay, placed the kettle on the passenger’s seat and plugged the small 12/24 volt kettle into the cigarette lighter before climbing into the sleeper cab for a rest. The driver fell asleep and after he did the kettle boiled dry. Due to the kettle not being fitted with a safety cutout device, the kettle melted and eventually set fire to the seat of the truck.
The doors and windows of the truck were fully sealed. Consequently the fire self-extinguished due to a lack of oxygen, but not before the toxic fumes from the fire overwhelmed the driver, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
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