The moment a Kombi van caught fire at a busy Canberra intersection has been captured on dashcam.
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Photographer Bernard Pearson was idling behind the Volkswagen van at traffic lights at the intersection of Canberra Avenue and National Circuit at Forrest on Tuesday morning when the back of it exploded.
Mr Pearson is heard to sound his horn and cry out, "Get out of your car mate! It's on fire!", as flames swallow the rear undercarriage and black smoke billows out the side.
He reversed away as he was "afraid it would explode".
"There was no traffic behind me at that stage. I didn't want to be next to it," he said.
By the time the lights changed, cars had banked up behind both vehicles, so Mr Pearson had to take off.
Fire crews were at the intersection within minutes to extinguish the blaze but the burnt-out hull continued to stymie peak-hour traffic for more than an hour.
Most bizarre was the reaction of the driver, Mr Pearson said.
"He seemed a bit blase about it," Mr Pearson said.
"He would have heard and felt it surely, it did make a loud pop."
A friend of Mr Pearson's passing by later saw the van driver jump back in and drive the van around the corner.
The van was later towed.