I was worried car would explode, says man ridiculed for trying to put out BMW fire with crowbar

He might have been mocked by netizens, but there was a method to his 'madness' after all. 

Last Friday (April 21), a video showing a man attempting to put out a fire with a crowbar was uploaded onto Sgfollowsall's Instagram page. 

The clip quickly earned several jibes from netizens who couldn't fathom what the man was doing. 

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CrP4eLNMol9/[/embed]

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the man in the video, Lin Yufeng, explained that the fire on April 13 actually started from inside the BMW car which belonged to his business partner.

Lin recalled that he was in his shop, which sells religious items, with some customers preparing offerings for the Songkran festival when he noticed that the car had caught fire. 

As they couldn't unlock the vehicle's doors, the 37-year-old was worried that the car would explode. Thus, he grabbed a crowbar from their shop to smash the windshield. 

After gaining access to the interior of the car, Lin's business partner used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. 

Responding to the comments ridiculing him on social media, Lin admitted that he was rather peeved, as he knew that he wasn't acting out of panic. 

He also uploaded a video on his personal Facebook page to explain the rationale behind his actions. 

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that they were alerted to a fire near 91 Desker Road on April 13 at about 1.45am. 

They said that members of the public extinguished the fire using a dry powder extinguisher prior to SCDF's arrival.

There were no reported injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Lin's business partner, Lin Yisheng, told the Chinese daily that the car was a second-hand BMW which he only purchased eight months ago. 

The 26-year-old is currently waiting for his insurance company to get back to him about how much he can claim for the damages incurred. 

ALSO READ: $70,000 up in flames: Second-hand car catches fire just 10 days after purchase

claudiatan@asiaone.com