Dometic Refrigerator Fire In Our Motorhome --- Pretty Scary!!!

Wendy · Feb 27, 2009

Wow, I'm sorry I missed the beginning of this thread !! Just read the whole thing and I'm sure glad you guys are ok !! Keep us all updated on how things progress....we're always interested in how things work out.

Betty and Marsha.....it was the "doovay" you were supposed to throw over the window ledge whilst escaping. And Marsha, you're supposed to throw the 80-pound poodle out AFTER Tim jumps out so he can catch him and you and before he (Tim, not Charlie) drives the toad away from the burning motorhome. What? He doesn't have the toad keys? Oh well.

Similar to this discussion about what the insurance company will cover was our experience when we got home in April and found that our hot water heater had dumped water all over our hardwood floors. The insurance company was going to cover the water damage but not the hot water heater until they decided it wasn't a hot water failure, it was the overflow pipe that was blocked by snow which broke the hot water heater. So because it wasn't initially the hot water heater that broke, they paid for a new one along with all the water damage. Who can figure out insurance companies?

Hope everything works out well for Rolf and Shirley and their busted fridge. And what a great story you have to tell !!

Wendy
Leo Carrillo SP

scottydl · Feb 27, 2009

Wendy said:
Who can figure out insurance companies?

Much of dealing with insurance companies (like any financial dealings) can and should involve negotiations. I've had some gentle prodding turn out in my favor several times.

I'd like to know any details indeed on the fire extinguisher used here. Following this thread and the other ongoing discussion on extinguisher types, I bought a new, larger one to add to our MH and take camping with us this year. It was a $35 "Office" model with fairly high ratings (compared to the others at Menard's) for which I was able to use a $10 coupon and therefore pay $25. Small price to pay for the damage that could be caused without it!

rsalhus · Feb 27, 2009

OK, here are some pictures of the fire extinguisher I used to put out the refrigerator fire we had a few days ago in our motorhome. The first picture shows the front side of the fire extinguisher. It is a First Alert monoammonium phosphate (dry chemical) fire extinguisher. Gross weight of this one is almost 3 1/2 lbs. That and other specifications are shown in picture 2. The third picture shows how much dry chemical I had left when I finished extinguishing the fire.

I don't know anything about the rating of this fire extinguisher or other fire extinguishers, but I was able to yank it off the wall and use it without any problem at all. I think it says to pull a pin on it but I don't remember pulling the pin (maybe it was already pulled, I'm not really sure). I do remember checking how full it was a couple of months ago and it was full at that time. All I know is that it was effective in putting out flames that I remember being 4-6 inches high coming out of the top of the refrigerator vent on top of the motorhome. I hit it with two doses, the first one produced so much visible smoke clouds (my term) that I stopped to let it clear because I didn't want to alarm all the neighbors. The second dose was applied just a few seconds later when it looked like it might be still smoking.

rsalhus · Feb 28, 2009

........it was the overflow pipe that was blocked by snow which broke the hot water heater.

I'm not sure that hot water heaters have overflow pipes, Wendy. Maybe it was the pressure relief valve? Whatever, what was it doing in the snow? I think I heard you or Mike tell this story before, I just can't remember what the snow had to do with it?

Mark R. · Feb 28, 2009

This is your basic A B C dry chemical powder fire extinguisher that can be had in any big store for ten bucks more or less. It is the same type and size I used to save the barn in my picture to the left, I would have lost the barn ,MH, several antique cars and a big piece of my life, cheap fire extinguisher good investment.

Chet18013 · Feb 28, 2009

I carry 5 of the large foam type fire extinguishers that "Mac" McCoy recommends in his MotorHome & RV fire safety classes. One in the toad, one in an unlocked external compartment, two by the RV door and one in the bedroom. Call me a bit paranoid, but after watching how fast a motorhome went up from just a little smoke, I want to be able to put out a fire, not have the extinguisher go empty before the job is done.

Chet18013

Ron · Feb 28, 2009

Chet18013 said:
I carry 5 of the large foam type fire extinguishers that "Mac" McCoy recommends in his MotorHome & RV fire safety classes. One in the toad, one in an unlocked external compartment, two by the RV door and one in the bedroom. Call me a bit paranoid, but after watching how fast a motorhome went up from just a little smoke, I want to be able to put out a fire, not have the extinguisher go empty before the job is done.

Chet18013

I would not call you paranoid just using common sense. We do pretty much the same except we have two in the bedroom, one on each side of the bed, two small ones in the kitchen area, two by the door, and two in the propane bay since that cannot be locked and is always accessable from the outside, as well as a couple in the toad. Cheap insurance.

Marsha/CA · Feb 28, 2009

Wendy....that's right it was the "doovay" we were supposed to throw over the window opening making it easier to climb out. How quickly the old memory begins to fail. However, I still need something on the ground for the landing. You're right, I'll send Tim out first!

Maybe we should ask the RV manufacturers to put little foot/hand holds outside the "exit" windows similar to what the "cliff dwellers" used to get up to their dwellings.

Marsha~

Tom · Feb 28, 2009

Maybe we should ask the RV manufacturers to put little foot/hand holds outside the "exit" windows similar to what the "cliff dwellers" used to get up to their dwellings.

Hold that thought Marsha. These guys already thought of something similar ;D

Mark R. · Feb 28, 2009

Funny Tom!

Betty Brewer · Feb 28, 2009

Tom said:
Hold that thought Marsha. These guys already thought of something similar ;D

Tom,

I'm not sure just who could actually exit a window that size. The steps are a bit off the side we need them. We gotta practice that event again. I see a Hop Skip and Jump Activity in the making!

Betty

ruthandken CDN · Feb 28, 2009

I have also thought about jumping out that window only to really injure myself (guess it's better than the alternative though). I did some research on the web and found this ladder. LINK It looks like it folds up pretty flat, if you had room to put it somewhere. There are also other types of ladders, fold up types, they collapse into a small bundle. Typical of an animal lover, I am more concerned about my 2 big dogs. :-\

rsalhus · Feb 28, 2009

So it sounds like my fire extinguisher was just your everyday run-of-the-mill fire extinguisher. OK, I'll get another one just like it then. And maybe two.

RV Renovators got most all of our rewiring of the burnt wires in back of the refrigerator done yesterday. We're still parked in their parking lot but now have electricity and use of our propane. The first picture attached shows the wiring in the back of the refrigerator opening yesterday morning. The second shows what it looks like today. The stuff at the bottom in the second picture is the propane piping, the outlet box for 110V, and the 2-wire connection for running the fridge from 12V (which we didn't have on the other fridge). There are 3 new junction boxes shown in this picture (two in back and one on the left) and one new one added forward of the opening. They need to add insulation all around before dropping in a new fridge. Also they need to add all new wiring from the TracVision satellite dish down to the TV area and to the rear bedroom. I don't know if this wiring is readily available or not, they were looking into ordering it yesterday.

So we feel pretty much back to normal again except for having a fridge. We still have things in coolers and change the ice out once each day which is a pain.

ArdraF · Feb 28, 2009

Rolf mentioned checking the fire extinguisher a couple of months ago. Everytime I clean the motorhome and get to one of the fire extinguishers I need to dust it off and that's when I also check to make sure the needle is in the green zone. Maybe this is a "pink" job??? :

ArdraF

Mark R. · Feb 28, 2009

Looking good Rolf, "every day run of the mill yes" but its the best most versatile extinguisher you can have ABC covers all types of fires and is best at shooting in behind burning refrigerators, but I guess you know that! Now for a new annual tradition for the rest of you, remove your dry chemical extinguishers once a year and turn upside down and pound the bottom of it with the palm of your hand or if you have a rubber mallet ,all the better. This loosens up the powder so when you need it, it will come out the way it should.

Ned · Feb 28, 2009

When it's time to replace your old dry chemical extinguishers get the foam type. They work as well or better and are much easier to clean up after.

Wendy · Feb 28, 2009

rsalhus said:
I'm not sure that hot water heaters have overflow pipes, Wendy. Maybe it was the pressure relief valve? Whatever, what was it doing in the snow? I think I heard you or Mike tell this story before, I just can't remember what the snow had to do with it?

It was a pressure relief drain. The pipe ran outside and it had a 3-foot high pile of snow blocking it - stopped the water from draining outside so instead, the water dumped out the top of the hot water heater. Please don't make me explain any more than that as I'm a techno-mechanical dummy

Wendy
Carpinteria SB

Mark R. · Feb 28, 2009

Ned I do not think Foam is even rated for electrical fires, I think I read that most fires on RVs are electrical, I also think believe foam suffocates a fire , meaning it has to lay like a blanket over the burning material to work, dry chemical is reactive and shuts off the fire chemically, dry chem is great for shooting into a space like under a dash or in a engine room, can even be shot behind a frig, it is messy because it disperses well. Watch a Nascar race , dry chem only, always look for the big ABC letters on the extinguisher. JTF mam

Ned · Feb 28, 2009

Read Mac McCoy's web site and have you attended any of his seminars?

Tom · Feb 28, 2009

For those who might not have seen it, here's Mac MCcoy's web site. Click the link for his Fire Safety Articles, which include one specifically for RVers.

Dometic Refrigerator Fire In Our Motorhome --- Pretty Scary!!!

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