Jessica Rowe speaks after horror car fire on busy Sydney road

TV personality Jess Rowe has revealed what she managed to grab from her car before it burst into flames in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Jessica Rowe and her daughter Allegra were lucky to escape unharmed after their car burst into flames in Sydney yesterday afternoon.

Rowe was outside her daughter’s school when her Volvo suddenly caught ablaze on one of the major roads in the area, New South Head Road.

A school bus driver named Miev initially saw smoke “billowing” from under the Volvo XC 60 and “jumped out of his bus” to flag down Rowe, urging her to escape the car.

The aftermath of the fire that consumed journalist Jessica Rowe's car in Rose Bay. Picture: Supplied

Jessica Rowe pictured after her car caught fire on New South Head Road in Rose Bay.

Rowe and Allegra both fled and within minutes the car was completely engulfed in flames.

“Jess was saying to me earlier that if the school bus driver hadn’t jumped out of his bus and run over to Jess’ car and told them to get out right now it could have been a much more serious outcome,” Rowe’s manager, David Wilson, told news.com.au.

“The whole family is so very grateful to him for his quick action and courage. Approaching a car that was clearly in serious trouble meant he was also at risk of putting himself in harms way, and that’s amazing.”

Images show the car completely burnt out after the vehicle was extinguished by firefighters on the scene. It was later towed away.

Fire and Rescue and Ambulance, along with police, were at the scene. It’s unknown what caused the fire.

The damage sustained in the fire after Jessica Rowe's car burst into flames in Rose Bay. Picture: Supplied

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The car after the incident.

Rowe said she was grateful to a bus driver, Miev, for getting her out of the car.

Rowe’s husband, Channel 9 News anchor Peter Overton, “rushed” to be with his distraught family and was absent from the 6pm news Thursday night.

He spoke to 2GB about receiving a FaceTime call from his daughter from the scene of the incident.

“Everyone at work could see that I was absolutely traumatised when I saw my 14-year-old on FaceTime absolutely inconsolable,” he said. “I saw in the background the car ablaze.

“When Allegra rang me, just to see her absolute state of despair, that’s why I can’t wait to see her. I don’t care about the car,” he said.

“They’re all okay and they’re home now. There was a real fear that the car could’ve exploded.”

Rowe’s car gets towed.

Rowe with authorities.

Speaking about the incident this morning on KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O, Rowe revealed the bizarre item that she managed to grab from the vehicle before it went up in flames.

“I do like a costume … so I had a cat head in the boot,” Rowe told the radio duo. “Sometimes I like to embarrass my children. I pick them up and I put the cat head on. Luckily I could rescue that from the boot.”

Rowe’s husband was not impressed when she told him she’d managed to grab the cat head costume.

“He said to me last night, ‘pussycat, that is not funny. Put it in the bin. You’re not keeping that,’” Rowe said.

Last night Rowe posted about her close call on Instagram and thanked “the kind school bus driver, Mev, who got us out of the car, called the fire brigade, cleared the road and then stayed to drive us home.”

She also thanked the police and paramedics and “the mums & dads who stopped to help”.

“We love you,” she wrote.

Jessica Rowe shared this photo after the close call.