'There we were, standing on the A1, with articulated lorries doing emergency stops, and the wagon just went up'
‘We’ve been very lucky’: owner’s safety warning after horsebox catches fire on A1
The owner of a lorry that caught fire on the A1 is appealing to others to take precautions, as she acknowledges how lucky she, her daughter and her ponies were.
Nikki Green has shared the things that helped in her situation, on 13 July, to raise awareness of the importance of the right safety measures.
Nikki told H&H she was travelling her ponies Val and Stu, with her nine-year-old daughter Lucy, for someone to ride Stu in practice for a competition.
“We were just north of junction 50 when someone pulled alongside us and was pointing at the wagon,” she said. “I couldn’t see anything, the dashboard looked fine and it felt ok – then I smelt burning rubber.
“I pulled over and checked the tyres, which were fine, then heard this funny noise. I thought the radiator had gone, looked underneath and saw sparks and flames.”
Nikki told her daughter to get out while she took the keys out and grabbed the ponies’ bridles.
“I thought ‘how am I going to hold two ponies on the side of the A1? We’ll have to flag someone down’,” she said. “This man stopped; he was driving a trailer with two in and he saw the little ‘un waving her arms, stopped and came over.
“I said ‘we’re on fire’, and he just grabbed the first pony and I put the bridle on the other one.”
Nikki praised the “amazing” man who came to her rescue; he not only helped get the ponies off, he put the fire out, using an extinguisher Nikki had in the lorry.
“He not only saved us, he saved the wagon,” Nikki said, explaining that the fire originated in the central bearing, and the damage was relatively minor.
“I don’t know if it would have burned itself out but it was getting close to the gas bottles,” she said.
Nikki said she has replayed the incident in her mind, asking whether or not she could have done anything differently. But her lorry was well maintained, and had passed its MoT a week before, and she had fire extinguishers on board.
What she will change is their positioning; one was on a bracket from which she could not free it and the smaller one, which did put the fire out, was in the living near the cooker.
“Have an extinguisher in the cab so you can grab it straight away,” she said. “I don’t think you can have too many.”
As well as having the extinguishers, Nikki pointed out, they need to be checked and serviced, and she is looking into fire safety sticks, which do not have to be held by a fire to extinguish it.
She also urges others to check their dashboards constantly; she always does so for warning lights and engine temperature, as overheating is a major cause of fires, and to have bridles or similar on board.
“Have bridles for every horse you’re travelling as you never know when you might have to get them out into traffic,” she said. “We’d been testing different bits for Stu so had a few on board, all with bridles, but I wouldn’t have thought of taking one for Val as he wasn’t doing anything. I thought afterwards, maybe I’ll have headpieces with bits, or a Chifney; they’re extreme but you want something to put over their head and take them straight off, and if they get a fright coming off the ramp with an artic coming towards you, you need to have hold of them.”
Nikki also recommends having high-vis on board for humans. in case of accidents.
She has posted about her experience on social media and said she has already had positive feedback.
“A lorry manufacturer said he’d put an extinguisher in the cab of every wagon he sells now, which is really good, and friends have messaged saying they’ve bought them; the message seems to be that people hadn’t thought about it before but they will now.
“We were so lucky in so many ways; the ponies behaved impeccably and they and my daughter are fine and there’s not much damage. We’ve been incredibly lucky.”
You might also be interested in:
'It went up in a fireball': Stallion saved from burning box on A1
Horsebox fire at Hickstead out in minutes thanks to specialist team: ‘You’re in good hands’
Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access ready for the Olympics and more
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the Paris Olympics, Royal International, Burghley and more with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now