The movie is full of public service announcements such as what not to do when coming to a washed out bridge.

King Arthur: I have no quarrel with you, good Sir Knight. But I must cross this bridge.

Black Knight: Then you shall die.

Jeanette Isabelle

Don't most car fires start under the hood? How do you physically open the hood when as soon as you pop the first latch (from inside the car) the second latch is in flame? I've got a pair of Nomex gloves in my truck, and while they do a good job at protecting against flames, the heat from the fire finds its way through. So while the question of should you open the hood is the topic; how would you open the hood?

The fire extinguisher, gloves, rescue knife and tools in my truck console are not for my truck, they're for somebody else's...

Generally Monty Python does not blend in well with German humor. Much of the humor got butchered up in translation anyway. I only started liking it, when my command of the British language became good enough to actually understand it.
In the case of car fires running might be a bad idea as you might be in area with fast moving vehicles. So get out, make sure the other passengers made it out too, look for a save path of retreat and then walk away. On German roads people get killed for hurrying in the wrong direction - not on purpose but that does not make much difference to them.

As others have said, leaving the hood down is the best advice. Open, it's a perfect chimney. But that advice may be counter-intuitive, because what what you'll likely see is a lot of smoke, not flames. The temptation is to open the hood and find out what's going on. Then, poof!

For fighting a vehicle fire? From the few incidents I've seen, no fire extinguisher is big enough. A 4-pounder is the "entry level" size, and they're not handy to schlep around in a passenger vehicle. Better to spend the money on a more robust insurance package and walk away.

The nightmare scenario is coming across a wreck on fire with people trapped inside. A small fire extinguisher and rescue tools may help, but the odds are against you. I vaguely recall that one of our members faced this some years back. May heaven/fate preserve us from such a no-win scenario.

Anyone trying to fight a vehicle fire without proper training, protective gear, and backup personnel (i.e. - a fireman on duty, in their official capacity) would be a total fool. You're probably not going to save the car. You're probably going to severely burn or kill yourself. Just too many hazards there - Open the hood and the flames flash up and into your face, potential fuel spills, pressurized "5 mph bumpers" exploding outwards and breaking your legs, hybrid car batteries showering you with who-knows-what's-inside-them ... No thanks. There are enough Darwin Award contestants in the world without me jumping into the fray.

Just (1) get yourself and any other car occupants away to a safe distance, (2) call the fire department, and (3) file an insurance claim. You can only do (3) if you are still alive to fill out the paperwork.

And most certainly, don't go and fling that hood wide open. Not even the dumbest of the fire fighter school rejects would do that.

As many have said, a car fire can be a dangerous thing. Those dangers have been pretty well covered in others posts.

Rubbers, plastics and other synthetics tend to burn less completely than ordinary combustibles. The thicker, darker smoke is not only much more toxic but it is also more explosive than cleaner burning fuels. Smoke from a typical engine compartment fire could have a ignition temperature similar to propane, this is why it is not uncommon for the fire to "explode" when the hood is opened completely.

So, the best advice is what a lot have been saying: pull the hood release and get away from the car and the smoke. Hood release usually fail in a car fire, and pulling it before you exit the car will make it much easier for the fire department to open the hood.

Fire extinguishers are just about useless in car fires that are well involved. They work well for small fires that you can easily access, when used correctly. Often when we get on scene, we will find multiple used fire extinguishers laying around the front of a car that had no effect on the outcome.

Good comments -- sobering. I hadn't considered all the stuff in modern cars that creates additional hazards in a fire. It's not at all like the old days with simple engines, lots of room, and a direct line of sight to the problem.

Uhm, one thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post. The VERY first thing you should do if you think your engine is on fire is to shut off the engine.

Then pull the hood release (from near the driver seat), get away from the vehicle, and call 911.