Just checking in to say hello - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Just checking in to say hello

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks for the reminder Tim....

Trabuco · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have been researching MH fires recently for my own piece of mind. No one knows more about the tragedy of a fire then you Tim. Our thoughts and prayers are still with you.

RVPAINTER · RV-Dreams Family Member

In the process of having our 2012 NEXUS 31P built we have requested 3 fire extinquishers be included in our RV - also one mounted in the larger pass thru storage area. We also will carry one in our Toad.
I remember reading a post here regarding an extinquishing system behind the refrig.

Bill Adams · RV-Dreams Family Member

Janet and I recently we able to help "put out" an Afla MH while we were in the badlands. People grabbed water hoses and not extinguishers. We showed up with 2 good extinguishers and got things under control pretty quickly saving most of the MH. The battery compartment was gone and it appears the fire melted one or more of the holding tanks, but the coach and its contents survived. The owner was not around (hospitalized) so while the news will be bad when she returns, it certainly will not be as bad as it could have been.

Jim01 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Tim,

Good to hear from you. Glad you're still lurking out there.

Even though you're not RVing any more, check in once in awhile and let us know how you're doing.

All the best,

Jim

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Good to hear from you again, Tim. Don't be a stranger so much. Your input has always been valuable in the past, and even though you may not get to RV, we would still like to hear from you.

Last year, another couple lost their fifth wheel to a fire. They had an extinguisher, but apparently only the one. It didn't last long enough to extinquish the fire.

After hearing of that, I plan on having two inside the coach, 1 each on each side of the basement, and 1 each on each side of the tow vehicle.

Terry

Trabuco · RV-Dreams Family Member

RV Painter - I have been researching the refrigerator issue because a good number of fires start in the back of the refer. I saw a few online pictures of just such a fire.

The owners of the RV had mounted a small automatic extinguisher inside the exterior access panel of the refer. The only problem was the fire was a foot or so above the extinguisher and didn't generate enough heat to trip the extinguisher. it was the chimney effect, the fire went up drawing cool air in the access panel never reaching the extinguisher.

Thee has been a lot of discussion on exactly where to mount these automatic extinguishers. From what I've read so far there's still a lot of debate.

Continuing to research!

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi again, and thanks for the kind replies.

I've seen some videos of RV fires, some posted here, and it seems that it only takes a few minutes for the whole thing to go up in flames. You don't want to be in there if it happens, God forbid.

Can't remember who it was, but somebody who posts on this forum lost their 5th wheel this past year because of a wheel that locked up when they were towing, or something like that... and they had a fire extinguisher handy but it wasn't enough.

I'm doing OK. I won't be going RVing, not just because I've lost my wife (fulltiming was our dream), but also because of health issues. I had to have a pacemaker/defibrillator implant installed in July 2009 just before Robyn passed away. At the time they did blood work of course, and there was no sign of a problem.

Three months later I had to go to the hospital for a test shock, and after they did the blood work they came and asked me if I was on dialysis! So I actually got two shocks that day. Something happened in the space of three months, I don't know what, but now I have chronic kidney disease.

That's why I decided to retire early at the end of Sept. 2010. Working for IBM technical services, supporting multiple accounts, being oncall 24/7 for a week at a time, etc. was just too stressful. I had had enough.

This is not to bad mouth IBM in any way. I was a work-at-home employee, with laptop access through a VPN - I could work from anywhere that I had internet access. They even said I could work from Augusta where Robyn was hospitalized, but that wasn't possible. I couldn't afford to maintain our home here in Columbus and rent something in Augusta.

At any rate, I finally decided it was best for me to stay put here in Columbus, GA near all the doctors who know me and are familiar with what I'm facing.

Nevertheless, I do continue to mostly lurk here and see what folks are doing because I think we could all benefit from simplifying and 'de-stuffing' our lives whether you're on the move or fixed in place.

Take care,

Tim Fansler

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Tim,

I think you and me are referring to the same couple. It was Ed and Marilyn that lost their Mobile Suites, just as you described.

They have since replaced that Mobile Suites with another and are back to the lifestyle. In fact, they went along with Howard and Linda and a couple from South Africa on their African trip.

So sorry to hear of your health issues. I think that if I were in the same circumstances, I might decide to stay in one place as well.

God bless you, my friend, and I hope your health gets better. Our prayers are with you.

Terry

Dave Buck · RV-Dreams Family Member

Not to hi-jack this thread but I always wondered what about RV's makes them so flammable and why materials can't be used to make them less so.

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Don't worry about hijacking this thread - I really don't care. But to address your question, and this is only a guess - take it or leave it:

All of that wonderful cherry wood cabinetry is flammable... it's wood after all. You have the same things in a typical standard home, but in an RV it's much more concentrated because it's a much smaller space, so if a fire gets started it stands to reason that everything will get involved much more quickly.

You also have a propane system. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that propane burns much hotter than other energy sources, so if the propane gets involved it will fire flammable substances much more quickly than other sources would because of the higher temperatures... if it doesn't explode first, which would be a major if not final disaster.

I wouldn't get paranoid about it. Just make sure all your propane and electrical system connections are tight, and make sure you have the monitoring devices to detect any leaks... plus enough fire extinguishers stragically located to be easily available so that you can execute your exit plan if it should happen to you.

Tim

Jim Dean · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Tim for putting this topic back on the table for us.

I understand that Mac the Fire Guy may be a speaker at the RV-Dreams rally in Kerrville in April. (Correct me if I am wrong.) He does an exceptional job of explaining RV fires. We had the opportunity to hear him at an RV'ers bootcamp last year. As a result of his presentation we bought 4 extinguishers from him. We replaced the one by the entrance (I put the old one in the propane compartment), put the second one in the kitchen, the third one by the bed, the fourth one in the console of the truck.

IMO I am not sure if putting extinguishers in the basement is a smart idea. The reason being you waste valuable time unlocking it to get to the extinguisher.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jim,

That is why I said two in the truck. As for our circumstances, we generally don't lock our basement doors when parked. The way we figure it, it would cost a heck of a lot more to replace the door than it would to replace whatever a thief stole from us.

We only lock our basement doors while traveling, and that is mostly to prevent a door from flying open. Also, if most of the extinguishers are inside the coach, it would mean having to go into the coach to get one.

Terry

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Since this seems to have turned into a discussion of fire safety (i have no objections to that whatsoever) maybe we should move it over to one of the fire safety threads on the forum where it would be easier for newcomers with questions to find it.

I am no expert on fires in RVs... my only comments about it have been guesses (smaller space, more concentration of flammable materials, etc.).

But one thing I do claim some expertise on is what happens to people who suffer big burns from fires. I have been there; I have seen it, and what it does to the families of the burn victims; I am one of them. And after 13 months of hospitalization it ultimately took my wife away from me.

As i have said before in one of the other threads, what happens afterwards are the things that you don't read about in the news.

Home fires and RV fires are probably relatively rare, but they do happen. You need to be prepared and have an exit plan to keep everybody safe.

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

One other thing I would like to add... it doesn't take a big fire to kill somebody. In our case there was no house fire. Robyn had trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. Ambien was prescribed. It caused her to sleep-walk. One night in mid June of 2008 she was sleep-walking and accidentally set her nightgown on fire, and that's the only thing that burned up.

Don't take Ambien or any of those other sleep meds that have the disclaimer about doing things that you have no memory of. 'If any of these things happen to you tell your doctor about it immediately'. If you have no memory of it, how are you supposed to be able to tell your doctor?

Ambien can sue me if they want for this post, but you can't get blood out of a turnip, and I will sue them right back.