A suburban fire department has advised residents to keep their vehicles away from fallen leaves after a car parked on leaves ignited, causing the car to burst into flames.
The Mundelein Fire Department said that firefighters responded to a fully involved vehicle fire late Sunday evening, with the car and surrounding leaves completely engulfed in flames upon arrival of firefighters.
Officials said that the blaze was quickly extinguished and that no injuries were reported.
Though the cause of the fire remains under investigation, authorities believe the car ignited due to it being parked on leaves, which may have been ignited by the vehicle's catalytic converter.
"Given that the internals of the typical catalytic converters work at temperatures around 750-1150 degrees Fahrenheit, and most residential streets have leaves stored at curbside for annual leaf collection, the potential for situations such as this to occur are prevalent," the fire department said in a Facebook post.
Residents are advised to avoid raking or blowing leaves into the street, while being asked to keep leaves being kept for collection at the edge of the residence's yard.
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