2001 Mercedes-Benz S500 electrical system problems

My instrument panel lights (dash board) went out on my 2001 s500 mercedes benz car. The lights would flicker on occasionally and go back out. I was able to recover the signal lights by changing the fuses. While on a road trip my kids noticed a smell and smoke coming out of the dash board. We exited the car and flagged down a police officer. We were told to get as much as we could out of the car because it was going to catch fire. Within in seconds my dash board was in flames. I could not believe it.

I was driving at night and the instrument cluster lighting began flickering, and after a couple of minutes went completely dark. The consequence of this failure is hazardous, the driver has no information as to the status of any of the car's systems. All of the following gauges and displays are disabled and nonfunctional as a result: fuel gauge, vehicle temperature, MPH, rpm's, the gear the vehicle is in, turn signal operation, as well as, all of the warning lights and displays.