Seen from a nearby vehicle on First Avenue South, a burning car is seen fully engulfed in flames on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Paige Willis)

ESCANABA — There is one less Pontiac Firebird in the world after an explosion in downtown Escanaba Friday night. Fortunately, the two people who had been traveling in the car when it caught fire escaped. The high-performance automobile, a 2000 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am WS6, was owned by Escanaba resident Brandon Oxford, racing enthusiast who was known by local car groups. Just six weeks ago, he showed people what his car was capable of on the Rhino Dyno at the Ludington Street Cruise. On the mobile chassis dynamometer, the Firebird clocked 624 horsepower — the highest measured at the event.

Shortly after 9:30 p.m. Friday, Oxford was driving east with his girlfriend in the car. They hadn’t traveled far when the couple smelled smoke and saw flames. Thinking quickly, despite brakes failing, Oxford immediately parked where he was — on First Avenue South, near the intersections with Ogden Avenue and South Second Street — and the couple jumped out. Oxford reportedly grabbed a fire extinguisher, but by that point, the car was practically engulfed.

Unlike the mythical phoenix, new life won’t be emerging from the ashes of this ‘bird.

Officers from the Escanaba Department of Public Safety were first dispatched at 9:42 p.m., according to a Saturday morning press release from the agency. As they responded, Delta County Central Dispatch received multiple calls stating that explosions were coming from the vehicle.

When the car exploded, people as far away as Soo Hill, Ford River and Pine Ridge claimed to have heard the blast. Nearby residents said their houses shook. Smoke was visible from the Stonington Peninsula.

While the cause of the initial fire has not been reported, a pressurized nitrous oxide tank appears to have caused the subsequent explosion. The compound is used to enhance vehicle performance; when liquid nitrous oxide is injected into an engine and heated, its elements (nitrogen and oxygen) separate, making more oxygen available for combustion.

“Because you have more oxygen, you can also inject more fuel, allowing the same engine to produce more power,” explains HowStuffWorks. “Nitrous oxide is one of the simplest ways to provide a significant horsepower boost to any gasoline engine.”

Oxford, who said he and his family have been in the car scene for as long as he can remember, owned the 2000 Firebird for six years. Early on, he raced it at the Spectator Eliminators at Norway Speedway. The “extensive” modifications it underwent since contributed to the readings on the Dyno as well as recognition in the local car scene. Oxford was looking forward to racing on the drag strip at the Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna in August.

Those plans and the young man’s hard work were rapidly overwritten on Friday night.

The vehicle was fully engulfed when first responders reached the scene. Night fell as dozens of people watched from nearby sidewalks as Escanaba Public Safety firefighters “utilized an attack line and extinguished the fire,” as the press release stated.

City of Escanaba Department of Public Works employees also assisted at the scene.

Gene’s Towing and Recovery pulled the burnt frame onto a trailer, and responders shoveled up the sopping remnants of the interior, glass and more from the street.

At one point, Oxford rescued the Firebird’s hood from the wreckage on the tow truck.

The vehicle was insured, Oxford said.