The well-known slogan of the fire and rescue service was underlined this week in the wake of a blaze which left a car packed with three generations of one family a burned-out wreck.

Stella Urciuoli-Churchill and her relatives – including two elderly grandmothers – escaped before their doomed vehicle’s engine caught alight after it developed mechanical trouble.

Today, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service stressed the need to follow suit and always err on the side of the caution if you suspect there is a problem which could lead to a blaze.

And a spokesman said the “get out and stay out” advice applied equally to incidents in a vehicle as in the home.

He said: “Should a fire occur in the engine bay, then stop the vehicle in a safe place and get everyone out.

“If you have some firefighting equipment and can get to it so you can fight the fire initially, then do so. But that’s down to your individual assessment and how severe you assess the fire to be.

“If you are in doubt, get out, stay out and call us out, because we have the facilities and the expertise.”

The advice from the service followed last Saturday’s drama on the A47, between Castor and Wansford.

Mrs Urciuoli-Churchill (38), of Woodfield Road, Peterborough, was heading to a fete in Bulwick, Northamptonshire, when she narrowly evaded disaster.

Travelling with her in a Ford Galaxy borrowed from her father was her mum Julie (56), sister Hannah Hubbard (36), niece Chantel Hubbard (11), and grandmothers Mabel Fowler (84) and Josephine Urciuoli (78).

After hearing a “bang-cum-pop” and seeing smoke come from the back of the car, she pulled over. Worried something might be about to go dangerously awry, Mrs Urciuoli-Churchill then decided to evacuate the car. Within moments of her family getting clear, flames spread from the engine into the vehicle.

It was quickly consumed by the fire and was left a smoking shell, despite firefighters’ efforts to douse the flames.

The fire service advises particular caution if confronted by smoke from the engine bay, as lifting the bonnet could feed a small fire with air.

The spokesman said: “As a general rule, don’t open the bonnet – wait for us to get there. And if a vehicle is well-alight, it is probably more than you could deal with.”

Mrs Urciuoli-Churchill said: “My dad had said to me if I took the car, he didn’t mind if I scratched it as long as the family was safe.”

With tongue firmly in cheek, she added: “I told him afterwards that it would probably need some T-Cut.”