As a former police officer, James has seen plenty of car fires. But this was the first time it happened while he was behind the wheel.
With a friend's help, James had just finished replacing a small part in the cooling system of his Subaru STI. The repair cost less than $20.
"We went out to dinner after fixing it," James said. "On the way back, on the highway I did a couple of test hits. Nothing that hard, just enough to put a smile on your face."
At first, the high-performance STI seemed ready for anything. Then as they approached the exit ramp, coolant sprayed across the windshield, and the sweet chemical smell flooded the car.
Immediately, James pulled over onto the side of the highway and popped the hood to find out what had gone wrong.
His friend, a master mechanic at a local dealership, took one look under the hood and yelled, "Fire, fire, fire!"
At that moment, James knew everything had gone from bad to worse.
"In my heart, I thought it was going to be a total loss," James said.
He'd owned that STI since college, when he bought it new. Like a lot of Subaru owners, he built it up over the years. Slowly at first, learning as he went. He gradually dove deeper into customization, until he was regularly special-ordering rare and one-of-a-kind parts from Japanese specialty shops.
"Custom seats, wing, hood, bumper, diffuser, every one of those parts can take 12 to 18 months to get. They’re made by these small shops in Japan," James told us. "When you order something, it’s not on the shelf. It’s more like, we’ll make it when we’re ready. It’s an art form."
Over the years, the STI became more than just a car. It was his connection to the close-knit Subaru community on the East Coast.
"I met a lot of people through the process. I bought a set of wheels from a guy, and now we’re close, he spends time with my kid," James said. "Some of my best friends, people who were in my wedding party, came from this. If I didn’t own a Subaru, none of that would have happened."
While his earlier upgrades focused on raw performance, his perspective changed once he was married with kids. "When you're younger, you're thinking of power first, and safety is the last thing on your mind. But once you have a family and a home, your thinking shifts. You want to protect your family and your investment," he said.
His experience as a police officer also taught him to be prepared for an emergency. "I’ve seen cars on fire. I’ve seen cars flipped over. I’ve seen people in cars in the worst condition," he said. "If you’ve made any kind of modifications to your car, anything can happen. You can do all the maintenance you want, but you can’t control everything."
But one thing you can control is whether you’re prepared.
That's why James had an H3R Performance clean agent extinguisher mounted to his roll bar, within easy reach.
After one quick shot from above the engine fire, and then another from underneath, the flames went out.
The entire emergency lasted less than a minute.
Afterward, the clean agent extinguisher spared him a messy cleanup. There was no powder or corrosive residue. That meant no secondary damage to the engine, electronics, or components he’d spent years customizing.
"I didn’t have to deal with cleaning the engine bay or any other parts. I've seen dry chemical extinguishers used, and the mess they make, and how hard they are to clean off a car. So I’m definitely never using them," he said.
That night, on the side of the highway, James thought he'd lost his car forever.
Without an extinguisher, the STI could have burned to the ground, wiping out years of irreplaceable parts, hard work, and memories.
But thanks to his preparation and the initiative to take action in an emergency, his car was saved. Because when the fire happened, he was ready.
"You never know what's going to happen. Don't wait to get an extinguisher."
— James Louie
Protect What's Irreplaceable
H3R clean agent extinguishers put out fires fast, without leaving behind corrosive residue that can damage your engine, electronics, and interior.
Every H3R extinguisher is backed by our Emergency Replacement Guarantee.
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