Cape Breton family's car erupts in flames while they sleep

A Cape Breton family says their nerves are still raw after their car burst into flames over the weekend.

Logan MacDonald was asleep when his mother's Honda Civic went up in flames around six in the morning Saturday.

"I just heard a couple of loud 'pops,' and I got up and I ran down the hall and I saw the car blazing. I could feel the heat from the inside of the house, like on the other side of the wall. Running down the stairs I was just in a panic and I just ran to the phone to call 911."

MacDonald uses his mother's car, but stays with his grandparents. 

The car was parked on the road next to their house when it caught fire. 

The heat from the flames was so intense it melted siding on a section of the home.

'It was completely gutted'

Logan's mother, Barbara MacDonald, owns the car.

"It was completely gutted, everything that could melt, was melted. the license plate was melted off," said Barbara MacDonald.  

The MacDonalds hope it was some kind of electrical problem that started the fire.

Although a neighbor said she saw someone run away from the car around the time it burst into flames, that worries Barbara MacDonald. 

"If somebody would set something on fire I, I don't understand. They literally could have really hurt somebody or killed somebody, there were people sleeping, probably yards away." 

Neither mother nor son can think of any reason why someone would intentionally burn their car — at the same time, Barbara MacDonald doesn't think there was anything wrong with the car that would cause a fire. 

"We just had maintenance done on the car within weeks, probably, of that. They checked the oil filter, did all the greasing and stuff. I don't know how that could have been missed and the car hasn't been acting any different." 

MacDonald said her car was old but it was still in good shape.

'Literally could have taken people's lives'

"It was a 1999, it wasn't a new car but it was everything — it was my independence for one thing — it's just getting back and forth to work, I don't live that far away, but too far that I can't walk to work," she said.

"If it was set deliberately I just hope somebody really thinks about what they did. I mean, they literally could have taken people's lives. If it was electrical or something, unfortunately we're never going to know and that's a little bit hard."   

Barbara has opened an insurance claim but because of the age of the car she's doubtful she'll get enough money to buy a replacement.

The insurance company will provide her with a rental car for the short term. In the meantime, Barbara has started saving to buy a used car.

"We're trying to deal with a neighbour who has their car for sale and we're just trying to save all our pennies and there won't be a car until we can pay for it in cash." 

Police are investigating the fire.