ESCANABA — There is one less Pontiac Firebird in the world after an explosion in downtown residential Escanaba on 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 area 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. The Firebird clocked 624 horsepower on the mobile chassis dynamometer — the highest measured at the event.

On Friday night, shortly after 9:30 p.m., 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, the young man parked immediately where he was — on First Avenue South, near the intersections with Ogden Avenue and South Second Street — and the two 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.

The local car community will miss seeing this Trans Am. It was destroyed in a fire on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Oxford)

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.

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)

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.

Brandon Oxford's 2000 Pontiac Trans Am Firebird WS6 is seen at a past car show in Escanaba. The vehicle was destroyed by fire Friday night. (Photo via Facebook)

The vehicle was insured, he shared.

Brandon Oxford's Firebird is prepared for loading onto a truck from Gene's Towing after a fire Friday night in Escanaba. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

Brandon Oxford walks toward the sidewalk after speaking with Public Safety officers while his ruined vehicle is towed from the fire scene. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

An Escanaba Public Safety firefighter shovels remains from the roadway on First Avenue South after a burnt car has been loaded onto the bed of a tow truck. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

The Firebird that blew up at the start of the weekend used to appear at car shows and races. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Oxford)

Discussions take place near the scene of a vehicle fire after the blaze was extinguished and car towed, leaving behind a charred, wet mess. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

The remains of a classic car have been loaded onto a tow truck as firefighters, the car's owner and area residents stand nearby after the Friday night fire. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

A shot from First Avenue South facing South Second Street shows a firefighter shoveling indistunguishable material that an hour earlier was a Pontiac's interior. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

Gene's Towing and Recovery and Escanaba Public Safety work to clean up the street after Friday's vehicle fire while neighbors watch. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

Both factory and aftermarket hoods for the WS6 feature distinctive dual nostrils (hood scoops) to allow cool air to reach the engine. The souped-up model pictured is Brandon Oxford's, before it met its demise Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Oxford)