Young Driver Saved from Car Fire by Quick Thinking and a Beer

It's not usually a recommended tactic, but a German newspaper recently reported an incredible story where beer saved a young driver's life and car.

According to the reports by 'Spiegel', the young man was driving his Volkswagen on the autobahn when he noticed a strange smell coming from his vehicle. He pulled over and decided to open the hood, only to find flames emerging from his engine.

"I didn't have a fire extinguisher, and I didn't know what to do," he later shared in an interview.

In a flash of inspiration, he grabbed the beer bottles from his front seat. "I didn't think much in those moments, I just searched for something to put out the fire," he said. "I know it sounds simply terrible—using flammable alcohol on a fire—but it was an instinct nobody would typically want to act on."

Against all odds, his improvisation seemingly saved his car from more severe damage. The firefighters and police who arrived after he called them claimed, "There was nothing left for us to do."

A few years prior, a similar situation occurred when an Australian man named Scott Chipindale used the same trick to save a teenager from flames. Chipindale rushed to the scene with six cans of beer he had just purchased, putting out the fire that trapped the teen, ultimately saving his life.