Brand New Rig burnt to a crisp.

[Bruce C]

I have always carried several fire extinguishers for my safety or to aid a fellow traveler in need. Just makes me feel better. Haven't used them yet, thank god.

[TheArnolds]

Originally Posted by RickO

Folks I have deleted several posts because they involved personal attacks.

I do believe it was a misunderstanding that spun out of control but let's keep our comments on the topic at hand and not each other.

Rick

Thanks RickO!

[DGBPokes]

We had an electrical problem which a loose cable from a solar panel. Which somehow shorted to a portion of aluminum tubing carrying transmission fluid to the radiator and shorted a hole in the line and ignited.
We were parked (not set up) in the street in front of my daughters house. We had just picked the grand kids. As I started the engine our son in law was standing by the front corner to wave goodbye. He noticed the fire and was frantically waving for me to kill the engine. (I had no idea transmission fluid was so flammable). Got DW and grand kids out and grabbed the extinguisher. Took the entire extinguisher to kill the fire but got it knocked down without much damage.
But by the grace of the good Lord, we were parked and the son in law was standing there. It could have been much more severe driving down the road at highway speed. Never would have suspected a fire from a transmission line. You just never know. I can't say enough about keeping your smoke detector and CO monitor in good working order. And keep those fire extinguishers clear and handy. Without it right at hand we could have lost the entire rig.

[EnolaEagle]

Well, I was back to the campground the other day and it appears that the whole family (including the pup) are ok. The owner thinks they are being paid out by insurance as I don't think they're interested in going camping anytime soon. I'm sure that the battle between insurance and manufacturer is a big mess. Its also alarming that the dealership accepted a unit with incomplete inspections so I'm wondering if there's any penalty on that end of things... All that being said, its great that the family is A-OK

[frankdamp]

During safety training as a bus driver, we went through the procedures for a fire at the operations center. The instructors first comment was that fire extinguishers don't put out fires, even the very large extinguishers on wheels and particularly in a vehicle maintenance depot. The extinguishers are intended to protect the occupants of the building during evacuation. The Fire Department puts out fires.

[62_inrightlane]

Originally Posted by cruiser

how do you know it was shoddy workmanship on FR.s side ,maybe a bad CG electrical or even owners fault is it a shame absolutely but to provide pix and assign blame seems a bit premature
brian j

I agree. With the attacks on corporate proft nowday's it's just so easy to immediately jump on the manufacturer. There is way to little information to make a determination of who is at fault.

[Muddypaws]

RV fires are just not that unusual any more. Cheap materials & appliances from China, shoddy workmanship, lack of enforcement regarding saftey issues, the list goes on and on.

Our last RV, a Keystone product that we just loved, caught fire when one of the battery cables shorted to the frame where it passed through a hole in the beam. There was no grommet, nothing at all to protect the wires from abrading. The resultant fire only did about $1200 in damage because a neighbor smelled the smoke.

My brother-in-law was not so lucky. His Heartland product was parked close to his house when it went up. Destroyed his house and part of his neighbors. The fire marshal and several investigators have never been able to agree on the cause. 1.5M and still counting. Dozens of lawyers now involved so it's going to be even $$$$.

[Dr. Den]

I know that be right !

[John S.]

I was at a campground one day and their was a nice American Eagle in a spot. Nobody was home but all of a sudden flames came out of the the fridge section. SOme people ran over and used their extinguishers and called the FD. They were there in about 7 mins but half the coach was gone. Nobody was home and thankfully nobody was hurt. I know in a Marina, boat fires are a huge issue as they will jump from boat to boat and dock to boat. Motorhomes are similar as are trailers, they are all flammable and carry flammable liquids...

[historyljc]

Originally Posted by RickO

It's actually a really good question IMHO. I'm one of those who carry three. One is at the entry door, one in the bath, and one in a basement bay where the BBQ is located.

I'd like to say that I've thought through the plan for what to do in case of X, Y, or Z scenario but I haven't... and need to.

Regardless of what is on fire I think the plan needs to be to get people and animals OUT. I can also see scenarios where I would use the extinguishers inside the coach (ie: a grease fire on the stove?) and even using the one located in the bathroom to perhaps provide an escape path.

I sure hate thinking about these things but need to and threads like this one help us all do a little preparedness self assessment.

Rick

I agree. I carry 4: by the bed, in the kitchen, by the front door, and a bigger one in a passengerside outside bay. I've had to replace my GFI receptacle as well as a couple of the kitchen receptacles. My sympathy to family involved. That really turned a dream into a nightmare.

[JudyH]

We have extra fire extinguishers, only intended to get us out. The first one we always mount in the sleeping area.

[wanderso]

I wonder if a lesson from this is the need to do a safety inspection at purchase and annually would be a good idea. Perhaps a checklist could be developed and shared in this site. It won't catch everything but examples like missing rubber grommets, leaking propane connections, faulty GFCIs, bad exhaust pipes, failing furnace heat exchangers, expired detectors, bad hot water heaters, uninstalled fridge recalls, frayed wires that can be seen, etc. would be found. We seem to have the knowledge right here for much of it. No guarantees but if it prevents even one tragedy it would be worth it.

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by GuyWhoTris

It brings up a question in my mind. I see many who are putting extra fire extinguishers in their rigs. As fast as these things burn to the ground it makes me wonder what the intent is. Is it to save the RV, or buy extra time to get out? It seems that trying to save the RV would be futile. I'm am considering adding an extinguisher or two but the plan will be to get out.

Those FE's are there and used to buy more time for safe egress from the tinderbox RV. You can lose an entire 40-45 foot motorcoach in 15 minutes due to any fire. The materials used to build these things are far from being fire resistant.

Originally Posted by bigdog

I now have a fire ext in the bedroom,beside the driver's seat and one in the rear bay by the inverter, as well as one in the car.I am also carrying several bottles of water.Oh, and I have added a fire alarm in the bedroom as there hasn't ever been one there.Yes,the smoke alarms went off as soon as we stopped.

The more FE's that you can have placed around both inside and outside your RV, the better chance you will have of survival. However, it is also important to own the best type of FE's available. I would suggest having AFFF units for any engine fires including generators and Aqua-Hot units. Halon for any RV fridge fires that typically start in the rear compartment and portable Cold Fire units to place all around the RV inside and outside.

Originally Posted by wanderso

I wonder if a lesson from this is the need to do a safety inspection at purchase and annually would be a good idea. Perhaps a checklist could be developed and shared in this site. It won't catch everything but examples like missing rubber grommets, leaking propane connections, faulty GFCIs, bad exhaust pipes, failing furnace heat exchangers, expired detectors, bad hot water heaters, uninstalled fridge recalls, frayed wires that can be seen, etc. would be found. We seem to have the knowledge right here for much of it. No guarantees but if it prevents even one tragedy it would be worth it.

The best method for prevention is to personally check everything inside and outside of your RV routinely from the very front to the back making sure that everything is secured correctly and safely and that nothing looks like an accident waiting to happen. If it doesn't look right to you then it probably isn't and it should be looked after to correct it.

These RV's are like having an earthquake moving down the highway. Anything and everything can happen so it's best that each owner take the time to go through systems looking for possible problems and danger BEFORE it actually happens.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[amdisc]

Does anyone know who owned this coach, as I have a gray wolf and it has electrical problems too, and I would like to talk to them and compare notes.
Thanks