By By Janet Little Cooper
A fire under the hood of an SUV rapidly spread engulfing the entire vehicle Wednesday afternoon on Highway 31 and James Road in Nokomis.
The Poarch Fire Department dispatched the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department with no response. Atmore Fire Department was then dispatched to the scene at 1:58 p.m.
Firefighters from the Atmore Fire Department and the Perdido Volunteer Fire Department worked to extinguish the blaze for almost an hour while Highway 31 traffic was stopped for most of that time.
When firefighters arrived on the scene the 1992 Jeep Grand Cherokee was fully involved. The driver of the vehicle, Terry Rudolph was traveling east on Highway 31 when he saw smoke and flames appear under the hood of the vehicle.
"I saw the flames and pulled over on the side of the road," Rudolph said. "When I got out of the vehicle, the flames exploded two different times and the whole thing just caught on fire."
Nearby residents heard the two explosions from inside their homes and saw the large plumes of smoke fill the air.
"I was inside and I heard an explosion," an unidentified resident said. "I didn't know what had happened. Then I hear a second one and it sounded like a bomb going off. The second explosion made a large black mushroom cloud."
The Escambia County Sheriffs Department responded to the call as well.