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Old 07-08-2012, 09:14 AM   #1
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Motorhome explosion in Utah

I hope this works as this is the first time I've tried attaching photos to a post.

A family from Tennessee is lucky to be alive after the mobile home they rented and drove across the country exploded and began to burn while they were still inside.
Firefighters believe a leaky propane tank may be to blame for the small explosion that caught the mobile home on fire in the parking lot of Snowbird Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Saturday.

One person was injured with burns, but the rest escaped unscathed. The RV — estimated at $100,000 — is a total loss.
"It is really destroyed," said Unified Fire Authority Capt. Michael Greensides.
At about noon a report of a fire came from the area of the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird, according to Greensides.
The family of four rented the newer model motor home from Memphis, Tenn., and drove to Snowbird to stay at the lodge. When the husband got out to check into their room he heard a "hissing sound" and several pops, Greensides said. He went to the back of the RV to check when he saw a large flame flash in front of him.
"Apparently [the propane tank] caught fire and flashed," Greensides said. The accident is under investigation.
A UFA station captain at a nearby station heard the explosion and "saw the man laying on the ground with burns on his body and the motor home on fire," Greensides said.
The man, in his 30s, sustained second-degree burns to the lower half of his body and was transported by helicopter to University Hospital.
It took crews about 20 minutes to put out the fire. All that was left was a charcoal metal frame.








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Old 07-08-2012, 09:25 AM   #2
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Good thing that the family wasn't in the coach and moving when it happened!! Glad that he is okay.

Sheila
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Old 07-08-2012, 09:33 AM   #3
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I didn't see the actual explosion, but heard it about 10 spaces down from us, year was ~1983. It was a GMC motorhome, vintage '70's. The owner had used it for remote radio broadcasts since new, and it was the first camping trip w/the family. Arrived in the dark one evening. Pop got up to start coffee in the a.m. Propane had leaked into the cabinet below stove, so when he lit the stove it blew. Blew out windows onto adjacent camp spots. Pushed the big wrap-around windshield ends straight out to the side like wings. Turned the cabinet to toothpicks and cut up his legs, mostly superficially but a lot.

Best to keep propane detectors up to date & operational. Same with carbon monoxide. These things wear out. I'm surprised the above rig didn't experience an audible alarm that triggered evacuation. Gotta be a reason that didn't work. Maybe folks w/the same rig can tell us how the propane detector is configured and we can figure out why the failure.
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Old 07-08-2012, 09:34 AM   #4
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Quote:
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Good thing that the family wasn't in the coach and moving when it happened!! Glad that he is okay.

Sheila
Actually Sheila I just read that his wife and two children were inside the RV but able to get out in time and avoided injury.

Scary stuff AND lucky.
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Old 07-08-2012, 09:35 AM   #5
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Wow, I wonder if something hit the tank.
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Old 07-08-2012, 10:07 AM   #6
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I'd like to get more details on what might have happened. Unfortunately i recognize that Motorhome, as i own one identical. Thor ACE 29.2 I'm not certain if this is a 29.1 or 29.2 based on the carnage in the pictures, but it is deffinately one of those. Glad everyone is ok.
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Old 07-15-2012, 03:45 PM   #7
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I'm not discounting this story, as the pictures seem self-evident, but there's something missing here. I can understand a fire starting from a leaky line INSIDE the unit, ignited by a pilot or similar, but this story makes it sound like there was a propane LEAK from the TANK, which somehow spontaneously exploded? Huh? Last I heard, even propane needs a SPARK to set it off - could this guy have had a cigarette in hand? This is a front-engine unit, it seems, so you can't blame this on the engine. Any qualified fire inspectors or knowledgeable's chime in here? I just don't like stories with holes in them...
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Old 07-15-2012, 07:42 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Harlee79
I'd like to get more details on what might have happened. Unfortunately i recognize that Motorhome, as i own one identical. Thor ACE 29.2 I'm not certain if this is a 29.1 or 29.2 based on the carnage in the pictures, but it is deffinately one of those. Glad everyone is ok.
From the position of the door I'd say it's a 29.1. The door is farther forward in a 29.2.
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Old 07-15-2012, 08:01 PM   #9
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It was not a MOBILE home, it was a motorhome.

Thankfully no one was hurt.

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Old 07-15-2012, 08:26 PM   #10
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Wow, I wonder if something hit the tank.
I understand that propane falls, or goes down when it leaks. I "assume" that is why the tank area has a door, but nothing underneath. Would something like expanded metal on the bottom not offer some protection from flying objects and satisfy the downward flow in a leak requirement.
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Old 07-16-2012, 01:47 AM   #11
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Question I have is was the Propane shut off at the tank? If it was, I wonder where all the propane was coming from. It is very difficult to puncture a propane tank so I am thinking that it must have been a hose problem with the tank left on or a pressure release valve problem at the tank itself. It certainly would be nice to know more about how this turns out.
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Old 07-16-2012, 01:29 PM   #12
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Quote:
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I'd like to get more details on what might have happened. Unfortunately i recognize that Motorhome, as i own one identical. Thor ACE 29.2 I'm not certain if this is a 29.1 or 29.2 based on the carnage in the pictures, but it is deffinately one of those. Glad everyone is ok.
Definitely an ACE. The holes below the living room window, aft of the entry door, and below the bedroom window look too symetrical to be fire damage, so I'm guessing those are access holes the firefighters cut to fascilitate their attack on the fire. In a 29.1 the reefer vent starts about 8" aft of the entry door, so if this was a 29.1 I think we'd see some remnants of the reefer or vent in the pic. My money says this is a 29.2. Either way, it's too close to home, so I too would sure like to hear more details on this particular fire.
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