Auxiliary Pusher Fan Failure - FIRE!!!

[msammy]

OK, so Wifey decides to go shopping the other night and parks the X5 and suddenly white smoke begins to billow out of the kidney grills like it's on fire. The thick white smoke is so acrid, She can't get near the hood to open it up for a few minutes but eventually does and discovers the A/C Auxiliary Pusher fan is on FIRE! Luckily, she has a bottle of water in the cup holder, grabs it and dumps it into the the fan and douses it but the fan motor is still glowing orange and eventually goes out. HOLY CRAP!

She called me and I arrived 20 minutes later to discover a smoldering fan motor and the 50 AMP fuse is cooked. Thank goodness the fuse went and cut-off the power and her quick thinking with the bottle of water probably saved our X5 from destruction!

So, now here's my question - WTF??? We purchased this X5 over 15 years ago, are the original owners and have maintained her very well over the years. Has anyone else encountered this problem? Two days later, the engine compartment still reeks of burnt electronics and the A/C won't turn on since the fan is cooked. Great - we just spent $2,700 to have both CATS replaced and 02 sensors and now this...

Is there a recall or something that we missed? This is a dangerous situation and I'm grateful that my Wife is safe and unharmed, but without her quick thinking with the water bottle, things could have turned ugly real fast.

I asked her - in the future - if this ever happens again, please don't open the hood if there's smoke - get out and away quickly and call 911. A 15 year-old truck isn't worth risking your life!

Attached is a photo of what I found upon arrival.