If this happened in America, it's the sort of thing that could lead to mandatory DO NOT SET CAR ABLAZE stickers on everyone's dash. But it's from Canada, so no need to worry. Basically, two guys wrecked their Honda in a ditch, and then set it on fire so they wouldn't freeze. It turns out this isn't such a great idea.


The two men (does it make me a bad man that I can only picture Bob and Doug McKenzie?) were driving on December 28, about 150 miles or so south of Calgary on a rural road, which must have looked like a sea of snow and grey skies, when they lost control of their Honda and plowed into a ditch.

That's bad news, absolutely. But the actions they took next are what make this so puzzling. Instead of calling for help on the cell phones they both carried, or walking to find help, they decided to set their car on fire. Well, at first, just the seats from the car and, according to the article, "all of their personal belongings." They were afraid of freezing to death, which, at about 5° F (-15°C), was certainly a concern.


After the seats-fire went out, they just decided to torch the whole car, which, of course, got out of hand pretty quickly, which gave the men the novel status of being later treated for both burns and frostbite.

In the morning, they found they were in easy walking distance of a house, which solved their crisis. Unsurprisingly, someone later called 911 about the smoldering wreckage, which led to one of the men being arrested for outstanding warrants.

So maybe that's why they didn't call for help and burned their car instead? Or maybe it was just Canadian politeness, where they couldn't bear the thought of having to bother anybody to come out in such miserable weather?

Either way, the lesson is pretty clear: try not to set your car on fire.