Americans love tailgating; it combines their three favourite past times of eating, relying on cars for everything and blood sport. However, while cars and tailgating go together like peas and carrots over in the U.S., fire is not cars’ friend. Someone should have told that to a sports fan attending the Miami Dolphins Vs. New England Patriots game at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
My boy was at Dolphins Pats game and I was told someone left a grill on by a vehicle Unfortunately here is the result pic.twitter.com/rBW3nR7bJg
— Miami Mando 🙌🏝🏈⚾️🏀🥊 (@LakersCanes305) September 11, 2022
Plumes of black smoke could be seen coming up from the parking lot around the second or third quarter. Police are investigating the fire but believe the event was accidental. A fan reportedly started the fire when they left a grill unattended in the parking lot, ABC 6 reports. One fan told NBC Miami he not only lost his flashy Benz, but quite a few bucks as well:
Scott Dellorfano, the owner of one of the cars that went up in flames, said his expensive Mercedes S63 was a total loss. He said he had $US3,000 (a little over $4,000) cash in the car as well.
“They said a grill caught on fire, it set off another car that blew up and it took our 5 or 6 cars. That’s what the police told me. I got insurance, you call stadium legal people, and then go from there,” Dellorfano said.
Dellorfano said the police told him someone left a hot grill under a car with carbon and that the car caught on fire which passed to the other cars.
Another life lesson folks: don’t keep thousands of dollars sitting in your car in a busy parking lot! And not just because your car might be set on fire.
From Smokey the Bear’s lips to your ears: Don’t leave fires unattended. Not in the woods, not in your backyard and not in a parking lot of an NFL stadium.