Fire

I would pull over and do the best I could with it. If it burns it burns. Sometimes you're the windshield. Sometimes you're the bug. That's life.

Goldencrazy wrote:
Pretty simple to me. Stop and evacuate. Once all are clear and help is called you can look at the situation to determine if you can extinguish the fire between the toad and the coach to reduce the chance of coach catching fire. Unhooking does not seem to be a good option at this point. This is not something to over think just like a fire in a home. Simple-get out and stay out.

X2

We have friends that has a trailer tire blowout that started a huge fire in AZ, rig OK. Later they received a $1,500,000 bill. :(

They had $1.0M insurance. Do you know what happens when the insurance company reaches your coverage limit in expenses? They send you a nice letter letting you know that they no longer represent you.

Pretty simple to me. Stop and evacuate. Once all are clear and help is called you can look at the situation to determine if you can extinguish the fire between the toad and the coach to reduce the chance of coach catching fire. Unhooking does not seem to be a good option at this point. This is not something to over think just like a fire in a home. Simple-get out and stay out.

holstein13 wrote:

mabynack wrote:
I was just reading a post about an accident that reminded me of something I saw about ten years ago. I was driving to work on I-10 and saw a motor home coming in the opposite direction. His Towed vehicle was completely engulfed in flames. When I went home that night I saw a huge burned spot on the side of the interstate.

I got me thinking about what to do in that case. The fire was way too big to handle with a fire extinguisher. If you stop you allow the fire to possibly spread to the MH. What are your thoughts on how to handle something like this?

I suppose you could drive to the nearest lake and back it in the water.

Actually, the only reason I might not stop immediately would be if I'm under a tunnel or bridge, otherwise, I'm pulling over as soon as I notice the fire. If I couldn't pull over, I'd stop in the middle of the highway and evacuate. There's no way I'd drive 100 yards more if I noticed a fire rolling down the highway with me.

You probably can't back it into the lake because you may break your tow bar backing it up! That may be the only thing that survives the fire so you don't want to do that.

mabynack wrote:
I was just reading a post about an accident that reminded me of something I saw about ten years ago. I was driving to work on I-10 and saw a motor home coming in the opposite direction. His Towed vehicle was completely engulfed in flames. When I went home that night I saw a huge burned spot on the side of the interstate.

I got me thinking about what to do in that case. The fire was way too big to handle with a fire extinguisher. If you stop you allow the fire to possibly spread to the MH. What are your thoughts on how to handle something like this?

I suppose you could drive to the nearest lake and back it in the water.

Actually, the only reason I might not stop immediately would be if I'm under a tunnel or bridge, otherwise, I'm pulling over as soon as I notice the fire. If I couldn't pull over, I'd stop in the middle of the highway and evacuate. There's no way I'd drive 100 yards more if I noticed a fire rolling down the highway with me.

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Last thing I would be thinking of is saving the woods-----just sayin.

Don't let your insurance man hear that! They probably won't pay that $10 million dollar bill from the Forest Service when it comes in.

Another thing to think about - especially for full-timers who carry everything with them: we always kept a 'to go' portable safe box at the door. It kept any important papers, titles, passports, some emergency cash, etc. It would be easy to grab if we had to get out in a hurry. If we had repair work done, we would take it to our car for safe keeping. Some folks think of hidden safes. You would never have enough time to get to the safe (under the bed, in a closet?), open it and get out of the RV.

If you can not disconnect, then get in the clear and call the fire department. Insurance will cover your coach and the toad.

mabynack wrote:
I was just reading a post about an accident that reminded me of something I saw about ten years ago. I was driving to work on I-10 and saw a motor home coming in the opposite direction. His Towed vehicle was completely engulfed in flames. When I went home that night I saw a huge burned spot on the side of the interstate.

I got me thinking about what to do in that case. The fire was way too big to handle with a fire extinguisher. If you stop you allow the fire to possibly spread to the MH. What are your thoughts on how to handle something like this?

mabynack,
First off, after over 30 years as a fireman for San Diego, I've seen just a few, "RV" fires, (just a few meaning well over a hundred). Second, the older ones were worse in terms of construction materials and, can, in many circumstances, be totally engulfed in flames, in less than 90 seconds, depending on where the fire started, and, type of fuel the coach is powered by. A gas coach of yesteryear, with much of it's construction materials being low to, mildly to, highly flammable. Fiberglass, burns rapidly when exposed to other sources already involved. Diesel will ignite but, at a much higher temp and, unlike gasoline fumes, it takes quite a bit to get it actually burning. I drove those fire trucks pretty dam.. fast, a lot faster than was approved by the bosses, (got in trouble a few times for it, they could track us on a big screen in dispatch) and we still never got to one in time to save it, no matter how close it was to the station.

The later coaches, have a bit more fire-resistiveness built into them but, not necessarily FIRE "PROOF". Those newer coaches have much light weight steel tubing and many, have much aluminum involved in their construction. Steel doesn't burn, it just tweaks and bends and turns into something a city treasurer would pay hundreds of thousands for, for the entrance to a city admin building.

Aluminum really doesn't burn, it melts to a big puddle. But, everything else in an RV, coaches, upholstery, insulation on wiring, plastic tubing, plastic components, cabinetry, is all flammable and, once heated to a flash point, takes off.

The main point I'm trying to make here is, NEVER underestimate your remaining time left, if any portion of your coach, catches fire. I cannot tell you that, if you've got a "tiny" fire, in say a, mattress, you've got time to go get a fire extinguisher and, make an attempt to put it out. Primarily because, if that fire is, oh say, 6" square, by the time you locate your extinguisher, get it off of its mount or, out from under the kitchen sink or, wherever its kept, and then return to the 6" square fire, it's quite possible the entire couch is now engulfed.

Ever see those demos on how fast a Christmas tree goes up? Well, an RV is not far behind in terms of speed of acceleration of fire spread. If you think you've got time to "find" a place to pull over and get things in order, it's quite possible that, that will be the last time you tried to FIND anything. I'm certainly not trying to scare you or, anyone here. RV fires are very similar to trailer fires in mobile home parks, there isn't a chance in he... to save anything once they get started.

Getting the toad un-done and backed away is still taking a chance. This is PRECISELY WHY I DON'T LOCK MY TOAD TO THE COACH!!!
Scott

I would never keep driving. Stop. Get everyone out. Call the fire department. Let the insurance company take care of the rest.