How to Ruin an RV Vacation!!

Coming home from antelope hunting this afternoon. I was one of the first ones by this scene, and no first responders yet. On the side of the Interstate, at a rest area, and already had 3-4 vehicles staged to blockoff access. The weigh station/Port of Entry sent a car, and Fire Dept and State Police arrived minutes later. This literally happened in seconds!!!!

Meth

Yes, its incredible how quickly the fire can spread in a Motorhome (or large boat).

I am retired from the Engineering Dept of a luxury Class A Motorhome manufacturer. And while every effort is made to use fire retardant materials, it remains that IF a fire is well started....the interior WILL be quickly involved. Federal Law requires special egress/escape windows in these vehicles for just that reason.

The motorhome pictured is obviously heavily involved and it would be wise for First Responders to stay back and prevent any traffic from passing nearby. The fire is already in the area(s) where the propane tank(s) would be stored. Except to ensure there was no one inside, the fire dept. would do best to let it burn out (it won't take long) and not risk injury to any of their crew.

This can happen to ANY motorhome by ANY manufacturer. There are a plethora of ways/reasons for a fire to start ranging from user fault, to vendor parts to workmanship/materials during construction. But the thing to take away from this...is the seriousness of an uncontrolled fire aboard a Motorhome or Boat. It can happen quickly.

Where I stopped on the shoulder to take the video, was probably 50 yards away. Opening the window of the truck was like a blast furnace with super hot air, even at that distance!

Dang, hope everyone got out safely.

Fridges can go up in some of those, propane leak, who knows.

My brother's Monaco started on fire at the fridge going down the road. Thankfully he caught it but spent a couple hours on the side of the road rewiring what burnt up. Looks like the hot spot is just where the fridge is located.

Do you think the FD knows this or should you call and instruct them, or did you already?

Whoa

I have a couple friends who are FD. Gonna ask them what the consider in vehicle/RV fires??

Got a burr under your saddle today?

Yep, leaking cooling unit. Ammonia and Hydrogen gas. Propane flame ignites the hydrogen which aids in ammonia ignition.

Failed heat sensors are common in some fridges.

walter white didnt die, him and jesse just moved and where trying to stay on the dl ! wow, glad it wasnt me.

I hate RVs

That is horrible hope all are safe

No sir, just not a fan of hearing engineers explain how firemen should do their job. If you are a trained fireman of considerable experience, I'll eat my hat and stand corrected.

Bummer hope all got out and are okay.

I was really surprised that it never even made the local news. I reported it in to the news desk, and emailed video. Never a word!

I stopped by there today on my way home again. Looks like it melted and burned the asphalt in about an inch deep. There was hundreds of gallons of water remaining in puddles at the scene, so looks like they attempted to cool and quench it. The remains of the RV have been hauled off.

I am not a Fireman and have the greatest respect for them. BUT just because a fireman probably understands that there are propane tanks on most large RV's they DON'T necessarily know WHERE they are located. There is also ammonia in most cooling units which when exposed to flames produces a highly toxic gas. Maybe every fireman knows this, or not? In any case....I don't understand your sensitivity to good advice. If it doesn't apply or isn't needed for first responder's then maybe someone reading this can benefit from the information. That was my purpose. Not to rub your thin skin the wrong way, though that seems to have happened.