Something I hope never happens

[disney4dan]

I just came across this "breaking news" bulletin of an RV catching fire on a local highway and then the propane tanks exploding. Wonder what started it all?

Would the fridge running on propane do this? Maybe leaving the hot water heater going?

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO116226/

Sounds like nobody was injured.

 

[liv luvs disney]

While traveling from TN to FL on I-75 a few years ago, the kids and I saw an RV engulfed in flames on the side of the interstate. The family had safely gotten out of the vehicle, but had no time to un-hook or anything. When I stopped, they had no idea how or what had happened. I stayed with them until help arrived, which was in no time at all. It was traumatizing to us so I can't imagine how they felt!

 

[des1954]

Dan- A Monaco motor home in our neighborhood caught fire due to the refrigerator. It was running on electricity and shorted out. There was a particular brand - I think Dometic - that had a recall due to faulty wiring. The people in our neighborhood claimed they never received the recall. Maybe yes, maybe no. Anyhow, I've seen first hand that a fridge can start a motor home on fire. Does it happen often? No! Should you be concerned? Perhaps. You might wish to research recalls on the fridge in your motor home. We did, and I feel safer for it.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Anything mechanical could have caused it, its too speculative to even try to guess. Vehicle fires are not all that uncommon and then add to that all of the systems required in a modern RV and you have way too many possibilities.
Vehicle fires are usually spread pretty rapidly, add to that the fact that most people cannot accurately describe their exact location and the chance that it mya be a rural area with little or no fire agency and its not hard to see why so many burn to the ground.
LP tanks all have a vent on them that is supposed to open when the tank reaches a certain pressure from the heat, if you see a tank blowing flames, its doing exactly what it is supposed to and you should move away from it as rapidly as possible because it will explode if it isnt cooled off and the pressure reduced.
RV's are easy to replace, burns leave scars that last forever.

 

[disney4dan]

I agree, have only seen one car fire, but it was very smoky, lots of plastics in cars.

That reminds me, when researching a recent regulation change for work, I went to our state Fire Marshall's website. They had a recent presentation about something they are looking into now (I think it started after the Station Nightclub Fire) was testing and treating people for hydrogen cyanide poisoning if they get smoke inhalation during a fire. They had one Providence, RI firefighter who was not responding to typical treatment and they discovered this poison in his blood. They had the rest of the crew that responded that night go to the hospital for testing and they all were found to have the same poison in their blood. They are finding that it comes from burning plastics, but smoldering carpet is a big contributor.

Something to think about for those of you who have to deal with this. Hope none of you ever have to find this out.

 

[auntie]

We had a neighbor have their TT go on fire. Almost set their garage on fire as well. They were getting ready for a trip..and had the fridge running on electric for a couple of days. Her husband called and asked her to switch it over to LP... as they were leaving that afternoon. Then she went to pick the kids up from school.(which was right down the street..you can see her house from the school.) Imagine her horror on the walk home when she saw smoke coming from the trailer. She called the fire dept. (which thank God was on the same street..and told them the trailer was on fire..and there was propane on board. I've never seen such a quick response..and the entire block was barricaded. All this..and the older couple who lived next door came out and wanted to know what all the rucus was about. The fireman couldn't get those two out of there fast enough!
Maybe it was the defect that Debbie was referring to...but it sure as heck was the end of the travel trailer. They were insured, and wound up with a nice new replacement..and thankfully no one was hurt. I shudder to think what could have happened if she hadn't seen the smoke when she did.

 

[Shan-man]

We were on a roadtrip one night a few years ago and DW wanted to stop at an outlet mall. I was feeling grimy so I decided to stay in the moho and take a shower. I started the water heater with the remote switch and made a sandwich while waiting for the water to warm. After my sandwich I began to strip down for my shower... someone starts laying on their horn outside. I run to the window and the driver is pointing frantically to the side of the motorhome, where I see a flickering glow! FIRE! I grab the extinguisher and dart from the moho (in boxers and socks) and run around to the water heater to see flames jetting out of the vent door. A quick blast of CO2 and they where out, and the damage was all confined to the water heater enclosure, but I can just imagine a few more seconds and the fiberglass siding would have caught and that would be all she wrote. Have you ever seen fiberglass burn? Wicked fast... like cardboard soaked in gasoline fast. I have since learned that checking the color of the flame on your water heater and fridge are very important pre-trip (and in-trip) safety measures.

 

[liv luvs disney]

We were on a roadtrip one night a few years ago and DW wanted to stop at an outlet mall. I was feeling grimy so I decided to stay in the moho and take a shower. I started the water heater with the remote switch and made a sandwich while waiting for the water to warm. After my sandwich I began to strip down for my shower... someone starts laying on their horn outside. I run to the window and the driver is pointing frantically to the side of the motorhome, where I see a flickering glow! FIRE! I grab the extinguisher and dart from the moho (in boxers and socks) and run around to the water heater to see flames jetting out of the vent door. A quick blast of CO2 and they where out, and the damage was all confined to the water heater enclosure, but I can just imagine a few more seconds and the fiberglass siding would have caught and that would be all she wrote. Have you ever seen fiberglass burn? Wicked fast... like cardboard soaked in gasoline fast. I have since learned that checking the color of the flame on your water heater and fridge are very important pre-trip (and in-trip) safety measures.

Gas...that stuff scares me to death! In fact, I just now had DH light the grill. I will not touch that thing with a 10 foot pole!

I say this in the most respectful manner of course. I am so glad that your MH did not ignite, but I bet that was a sight! Santa in his boxers and socks with a fire extinguisher for all the shoppers to see. Thank the Lord it was contained and put out quickly. What is it with you and the wild, crazy happenings with your moho? If you weren't a dead ringer for Santa, we'd have to call you Super Man.