Motor Home Fires

[macnkat]

It seems like I see motor homes burning on the side of the road than cars. Not that I see a lot of vehicle fires, but I am on the road all day as a driver (ready mix) and do see then occasionally. What seems to be the primary cause of motor home fires...if it could be narrowed down to a couple of items.

[RickO]

I sure don't know what the actual figures are but I seem to hear more about refrigerator fires than anything else.

Rick

[macnkat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickO I sure don't know what the actual figures are but I seem to hear more about refrigerator fires than anything else. Rick

Electrical or propane related?

[RickO]

I'm not sure really. You'll get more info than you can read in one sitting if you use our search feature and look for refrigerator fires.

Rick

[Sammie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by macnkat It seems like I see motor homes burning on the side of the road than cars. Not that I see a lot of vehicle fires, but I am on the road all day as a driver (ready mix) and do see then occasionally. What seems to be the primary cause of motor home fires...if it could be narrowed down to a couple of items.

Mark, First check to see if there is a recall on your refridgerator. My Norcold fridge has had several recalls due to the related fires. It seems as though the cooling unit can crack open and release a flammable gas which can then be ignited by either the propane burner or the electric heating element.

Sammie

[Gary RVRoamer]

These days you hear most about refrigerator fires caused by cooling unit failures - because there is a recall on them from both Norcold and Dometic. But the fire safety people report that most RV fires are either electrical in nature OR engine related. "Engine related" appears to mean they started in the engine compartment, so that is not necessarily the engine itself.

Another thing you hear about are fires originating from brake or tire overheating.

Mac TheFire Guy, a retired fire marshall, has an interesting article no RV fire causes:
34 Fire Facts That Can Save Your Life

[wa8yxm]

I have seen a total of ONE RV fire, and that was a Truck and Trailer,, The Truck was on fire, the Trailer had smoke damage only (needed a good wash and wax and it was good as new)

I've seen several car fires,, Even had one, sort of (My wife was driving at the time, thankfully she was unable to do what you should not do (Open hood) so the fire self-extinguished before serious damage was done,, Some electrical tape and about 8 bucks in parts INCLUDING a new accelerator pump diaphaham and I drove the car home so we could take a can of gas back to my car.. I 'd run out as I pulled into the lot for the 2nd time.

[Rich and Cork]

A problem with some of the motorhomes built in the '60s and '70s was that one of the two straps holding the fuel tank would break and the tank drop to the ground. I was lucky with a '72 I had in the '70s that had one of the two straps break on me. The luck was that it dropped just as I was getting to a friends' house and caused no issues.

[Mr_D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by macnkat Electrical or propane related?

On another forum a fireman (Capt.?) searched their resources, according to that research there has never been a recorded fire that was attributed to propane starting it.
The propane systems of today are extremely safe, they are designed, built, tested and certified to be on while the vehicle is moving.

[wa8yxm]

I would have to say BULL to that since engine fires have absolutely nothing to do with Propane and many motor home fires start in the engine. Heck, we have had some reported right here in the forum that were clearly engine fires.

And see my earlier post.. True, that was a 5'er not a motor home.. but the fire was clearly not Propane related.. The tow vehicle caught fire, NOT the trailer. FD got it out in time to prevent a fire in the trailer.

[caymann]

If you saw a MH on fire by the side of a road/hwy, it was likely due to:-

1.Engine related - rarely
2.Generator related - rarely
3. Chassis related - MOSTLY
4. Refrigerator related - when veh is in motion, propane is used to run the refrigerator - Sometimes

The biggest reason - :LACK OF CHASSIS MAINTENANCE/INSPECTION

Here is a great article - LINK

[Jon from WI]

There is a bill in congress now regarding motorcoach legislation. If you simply "google" bill S.453 motorcoach enhanced safety act of 2011 and read the summary you will get some good information on safety and prevention ideas.

[Captain Morgan]

When I returned from a week long trip to Ohio last week, I didn't have any 115 vac power to the coach when I plugged it into shore power. I checked all the breakers and all were fine. I fired up the generator and had 115 vac. So I plugged the shore line back in and after a couple of minutes, with the generator running, (xfer switch engaged) I lost 115 again. I didn't have much time to mess with it that day, so I disconnected the shore power and headed home. I returned to the coach yesterday to troubleshoot the issue. I found the xfer switch didn't have any voltage to it when connected to shore power. To make a long story short, there's a relay located behind the 12v panel that had one of the contacts melted. The contact would arc (sounded like a miniature welder) and was shooting sparks out. Although I don't believe a fire could have started at the relay due to the metal enclosure, the poor connection and increased resistance could have caused the wiring to overheat and possibly start a fire somewhere else in the coach. I hate to think what may have happened if I left it plugged in when I left it last Sunday in storage.

[Mr_D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by caymann 4. Refrigerator related - when veh is in motion, propane is used to run the refrigerator - Sometimes

But the cause of the fire was NOT propane and in all probability the propane shut itself off due to the high flow shutoff valve.