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

No I have not been to Macs seminars, but I have taken 25 years of commercial fire safety classes, including putting out real fires using fire extinguishers on different types of fires. I looked at Mac's website, I see he sells little fire extinguishes for lots of money, what I did not see was the standard labeling I see on  UL listed devices, I did not read words like UL listed, Classifications are 1-A 10-B.C, Marine Type U.S.C.G. bla bla bla,U.S.C.G. APPROVAL #4574776, tested to ANSI 711 AND ANSI/UL 299. What I did read were obscure statements that suggest they are approved with out saying they are " This ultimate hand held extinguisher is used for Class A, B, D, and K fires." Maybe all the devices he is selling have all the approvals and he chose not to say it for some reason. In his definition page that explains different types of fire agents he repeatedly uses scare tactics, like toxic, and the material will melt to hot surfaces. So Ned I will stick to the real thing, that says its the real thing on it and is tested to be the real thing and certified by the worlds largest most respected underwriter.  I am sure people will learn allot at one of Macs seminars, and I am sure he has lots of experience, but by any chance does he sell anything at the safety seminars?

Last year I had a fire in my barn, the flames were 6 feet tall against a wall next to my MH, the fire was burning towels, the 50 amp 220 wire to a welder, a high pressure air hose and my nice new welding helmet (for sale 1/2 price). One quick blast from a 10 dollar UL approved ABC extinguisher put out the fire instantly. Yes I had to sweep and vacuum up the dust, I was willing to do it with a smile on my face.

You are right, the only certification on the little one in the kitchen is the DOT certification on the pressure bottle.  No UL etc. 

And yes, he sells at the seminars!

I believe that  we should all learn our fire safety and have fire extinguishers in and near our RV's.  Knowing how to use them is the critical element.  I  took a Mac McCoy seminar at an FMCA Rally.  I volunteered at his  Live demonstration.  He had a roaring  fire that was very hot and could easily have singed my face to use  as a for real demo.  It  made a believer out of me that I need to know what to do and have  extinguishers handy.  I purchased from him at the moment as I likely would not have made the special trip elsewhere  as quickly and as conveniently as his seminar.  I guess my point is, who cares where you get them,  just get them and get a little training too.  Rolf was very lucky to have his fire extinguishers on hand and he knew how to use them saving his rig.  That said I guess we all agree he should have called the fire Department too.  We learn from each other here!

Betty

Well, they had a 20% off sale at Ace Hardware yesterday (one day only) so we bought a couple of new fire extinguishers.  The new ones (rated 'Recreational') are smaller than the old one as can be seen in the first attached picture.  The new ones are 2 lbs and the old one was almost 3 1/2 lbs.  After discount, the cost was $13.94 each plus tax.  The first picture shows the old extinguisher on the left and one of the new ones on the right.

The ratings and contents of the new extinguishers is different than the old one too, see the second picture.  The rating of the old extinguisher was 1-A:10-B:C and the new one is just 5-B:C, so maybe these aren't so good? ??? ??? ??? 

The contents of the old one was monoammonium phosphate and the contents of the new ones is sodium bicarbonate.  Sounds like baking soda to me.

The bracket enclosed with the new fire extinguisher is different from the one I have installed on the wall by the front door, and the spacing of the holes for the screws that hold it up is different from the old one, meaning I need to drill new holes to install the new one.  I'm thinking of installing the second extinguisher on the roof so I can get at it quicker.   ;D ;D ;D

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

Click to expand...

OK I'm assuming the reason the drainage hose went outside is because there is no drain in the floor where the water heater was located.  I think that would explain it.

Rolf you had a class A fire in your rig started by a class B/C event, If I remember what you said a chafing electrical wire "C" shorted to the gas pipe and burned a hole in the pipe. The escaping gas"B" was ignited by the heat caused by the short, setting surrounding material on fire "A". This is why you want a ABC rated fire extinguisher, it worked good for you this time , stick with what works. JMO

This is why you want a ABC rated fire extinguisher, it worked good for you this time , stick with what works. JMO

Click to expand...

Mark, that makes sense to me.  I didn't know it wasn't A-rated until I got it home and opened the box.  I'll see if I can bring them back.  Thanks for the heads up.  Any idea where I can get one that is A-rated also?

Rolf next time you see a Home Depot or Lowe's  pull in, they are usually cheap and plentiful.  I bet you are ready to get your new frig. installed and get out of there.

I bet you are ready to get your new frig. installed and get out of there.

Click to expand...

Yeah, we're ready but we're also very thankful that it wasn't worse than it was.

I mentioned in a previous post about the Prevost owner here that replaced 8 Lifeline batteries with new Deka batteries because they couldn't find 8 new Lifelines anywhere around here.  The tech said that one of the eight Lifelines was cracked and bulged out, and by shorting out it resulted in ruining all of the other batteries.  I attached a couple pictures of the 8 Lifelines on a pallet out in back.  I don't see which battery is cracked and bulged out but it must be there.  How'd you like to pick up the bill to replace these monsters?

Rolf,

Those are 8D batteries (read expensive and very heavy).

Expensive Prevost, expensive batteries, lots of them!

Those are 8D batteries (read expensive and very heavy).

Click to expand...

Yes, exactly.  Notice how 4 of them have Lifeline labels on them and 4 don't?  This guy bought 4 new ones not long ago to replace 4 that weren't doing so good.  He should have replaced all 8 of them at that time.  There are dates on them and the tech could tell that four were new and four were old.  That guy should have come to RV Forum before he replaced only four of them.  We could have saved him some money, right Tom?

Right on Rolf.

When you look at the size, weight and cost of these batteries it makes it clearer why electric cars are pretty much a failure. Now when you can get the power of all these batteries out of something the size of a D cell you will have something, someday maybe.

PS I don't think my rig could carry all those batts., would need bigger tires! ;D

Rolf,

I was a manager for a fire equipment company and have a son in the fire service with the LVFD. The first thing I did when we purchased our motorhome was get some GOOD fire extinguishers.

The small extinguisher you used (2 1/2 lb ?) put out your small fire (I know it didn't seem small when you were fighting it  ). As you showed in one of your photos, it was empty when you were through. If it had been a larger fire or flared up again, you were standing there with an empty extinguisher.

I won't have anything on my motorhome smaller than a 5 lb extinguisher. The rating on these should be about 3A 40BC. Spend the money and get a good one with a metal head and check before you buy it that it is rechargeable. That way if you have to use it you can have it recharged and don't have to buy a new one.

I noticed people mentioning that the dry chem extinguishers need to be turned upside down to loosen the powder annually. This is very good advise for an extinguisher in a building or something that doesn't move. The powder in an extinguisher is so fine that it packs very easily. With the vibration of a RV going down the road this just packs it harder. I would suggest that you turn them upside down and rap them good at least quarterly if not monthly.

I won't have anything on my motorhome smaller than a 5 lb extinguisher. The rating on these should be about 3A 40BC. Spend the money and get a good one with a metal head and check before you buy it that it is rechargeable. That way if you have to use it you can have it recharged and don't have to buy a new one.

Click to expand...

Hi Don.  All good advice I'm sure.  Our extinguisher was a 3 1/2 lb one (actually it was 3 lb 6.5 oz. + or - 1 oz.). When we went to look at new ones, the 2 lb one was one of  the bigger ones we saw at Ace Hardware and it was labeled "Recreational", as in RV.  They also are rechargeable.

Rolf, if you find out the name of that subdivision of cheap homes in Casa Grande, I'd like to know. Hope the repairs go quickly now and are covered. Thanks for keep us up to date.

We keep a 1A:10BC mounted to the back of the drivers seat in our van (just across from side doors).  I used to keep it in the back of the van (basically at a dead end ... decided a few years back that that location was not a good idea).

In our stick house we have three 3A:40BC extinguishers.  One at each of the three landings (mounted to the back of closet doors).

   *  Class A extinguishers are for ordinary combustible materials such as paper, wood, cardboard, and most plastics. The numerical rating on these types of extinguishers indicates the amount of fire it can extinguish.
   * Class B fires involve flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, grease and oil. The numerical rating for class B extinguishers indicates the approximate number of square feet of fire it can extinguish.
   * Class C fires involve electrical equipment, such as appliances, wiring, circuit breakers and outlets.  The C classification means the extinguishing agent is non-conductive.
   * Class D fire extinguishers are commonly found in a chemical laboratory. They are for fires that involve combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, potassium and sodium. These types of extinguishers also have no numerical rating, nor are they given a multi-purpose rating - they are designed for class D fires only.

A 2A extinguisher can put out approximately twice as much fire as a 1A extinguisher. Etc.
A 20B extinguisher can put out approximately twice as much flammable liquid fire as a 10B extinguisher. Etc.
A C extinguisher is a C extinguisher and does not rate electrical fire size.

Class D fire.......... Only really came close to one of these.  I had new magnesium casting that was scheduled to go into production in about 6 months.  Came home from work one night and the 6 o'clock news was showing this huge fire at a powder coating plant in Detroit.  Fire trucks dumping water on this VERY bright fire that was in gulping the whole plant.  The facility was post processing several mag. parts, including mine.  The plant had been full of magnesium parts.

By the photos it looks like they have installed looms around all the new wiring they are installing.  Do you know if this level of protection was present in the original installation??  IE:  Is the wiring safer now then as originally  installed?

I had new magnesium casting that was scheduled to go into production in about 6 months.  Came home from work one night and the 6 o'clock news was showing this huge fire at a powder coating plant in Detroit.  Fire trucks dumping water on this VERY bright fire that was in gulping the whole plant.  The facility was post processing several mag. parts, including mine.  The plant had been full of magnesium parts.

Click to expand...

Never, ever put water on a magnesium fire!  The fire is so hot it breaks water down into hydrogen and oxygen, just making a bigger fire.  I worked in a machine shop back in the '60s and a kid lit a pile of mag chips on a drill press table.  Burned right through the 1/2" thick cast iron table and about 2" into the concrete floor below.  We kept graphite powder close to any machining operation to suffocate a mag fire.

P.S. how to tell the difference between aluminum and magnesium? Taste it!  Mag will always taste salty, AL will be metallic tasting.
edit]Fixed quote.[/edit]