rsalhus
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2006
- Posts
- 1,335
The Dometic refrigerator in our motorhome caught on fire today. We heard some kind of weird noise in the refrigerator area, and then we saw smoke. Shirley was getting some ice out of the freezer when it happened. I was sitting outside in a lawn chair at the time when I heard the noise. Right away I pulled the refrigerator cover off of the outside and saw some smoke there. It seemed like the electrical wires were smoking from the insulation burning. I ran inside and manually shut the refrigerator off (it was on) and then went back outside and pulled the wiring plug where the fridge was plugged into the AC outlet. More smoke started coming out the side where the cover was removed and out of the top of the motorhome where the fridge vent lid is located.
Next, I saw flames coming out of the top of the vent on top of the motorhome. That really got me excited! I grabbed the fire extinguisher and climbed up on top and put the fire out. Flames were shooting out about 4-6 inches above the top of the vent and melted the cover completely. The fire extinguisher put the fire out pretty quickly, but when it continued to smoke I sprayed it again with the fire extinguisher. This time the fire went out for good. We thought about calling the fire department, but I managed to douse the flames without too much trouble.
Inside the motorhome, the AC was out everywhere. I reset the main breaker (30 amp) and everything came back on, except the fridge. I was going to post a picture here of the melted vent but my camera batteries went dead just as I snapped a picture. Maybe I'll post a picture tomorrow as it just got dark here and my batteries are now recharging.
Now I have to find somewhere to get the fridge fixed/replaced. I don't suppose our Progressive insurance will cover this, or will it? We're parked at The Resort in Mesa, AZ. Anyone know of a good place around Mesa/Phoenix to get a new fridge? I know there's quite a few RV places to choose from but how to choose the best place?
In case anyone was wondering, it's a Dometic New Dimensions side-by-side (10 cubic foot) refrigerator. And it's not one of those recalled by Dometic. I have no idea what caused it to catch on fire, maybe someone else has an idea. I'm pretty sure it was running off of AC before it caught on fire, but it's set on automatic so it could have switched to propane when the circuit breaker tripped, I guess. I didn't notice whether it was running off of propane or AC when I shut it off. A few neighbors saw the smoke and came running over but the fire was pretty much out by then. Anyway, a pretty exciting day in the park I would have to say! It's a good thing we were home when it happened!
Next, I saw flames coming out of the top of the vent on top of the motorhome. That really got me excited! I grabbed the fire extinguisher and climbed up on top and put the fire out. Flames were shooting out about 4-6 inches above the top of the vent and melted the cover completely. The fire extinguisher put the fire out pretty quickly, but when it continued to smoke I sprayed it again with the fire extinguisher. This time the fire went out for good. We thought about calling the fire department, but I managed to douse the flames without too much trouble.
Inside the motorhome, the AC was out everywhere. I reset the main breaker (30 amp) and everything came back on, except the fridge. I was going to post a picture here of the melted vent but my camera batteries went dead just as I snapped a picture. Maybe I'll post a picture tomorrow as it just got dark here and my batteries are now recharging.
Now I have to find somewhere to get the fridge fixed/replaced. I don't suppose our Progressive insurance will cover this, or will it? We're parked at The Resort in Mesa, AZ. Anyone know of a good place around Mesa/Phoenix to get a new fridge? I know there's quite a few RV places to choose from but how to choose the best place?
In case anyone was wondering, it's a Dometic New Dimensions side-by-side (10 cubic foot) refrigerator. And it's not one of those recalled by Dometic. I have no idea what caused it to catch on fire, maybe someone else has an idea. I'm pretty sure it was running off of AC before it caught on fire, but it's set on automatic so it could have switched to propane when the circuit breaker tripped, I guess. I didn't notice whether it was running off of propane or AC when I shut it off. A few neighbors saw the smoke and came running over but the fire was pretty much out by then. Anyway, a pretty exciting day in the park I would have to say! It's a good thing we were home when it happened!