Fire safety tip for the 2012 camping season L@@K!

porthole

Retired
Ok, this one is personal. This is about my work partner’s wife. When we work we spend 24 hours together, 8am till 8am the next day, as close to family as having blood lines.

“John” was in the garage putzing around. “Jane” was on the deck prepping dinner on the grill.

John heard what can be described as a rush or air, like an air hose, followed by a “whoosh”, followed by the blood curdling screams of his wife.

It is still undecided exactly what happened, but apparently when Jane went to change out the propane bottle, gas escaped, found an ignition source, maybe from the hot grill.

She was enveloped in a cloud of burning propane
Propane can burn in excess of 3000 degrees, so it doesn’t take much.

911 is called and there is a delay in EMS response due to an accident involving and overturned tractor trailer (with the drivers left arm pinned under the truck) and a school bus full of kids (all minor injuries).

Dispatch finally sends an engine company which happens to be the same engine John is assigned too. An ambulance finally arrives from out of town and transports Jane to the local trauma center. She is stabilized there and due to inhalation concerns she is transported to St Barnabas, probably the premier burn center in the tri state area.

Jane has 1[SUP]st[/SUP] and 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] degree burns over most of her exposed areas (it was summer like last week here). She was released early the next morning as there were no inhalation issues.

She got a trip to the salon to trim up her hair and has been back once to the burn center for evaluation. So far it seems there may be no debridement or grafts required. Next visit will determine the extent of her injuries.

She is lucky.

Be careful with your summer grilling!
 

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Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
What a horrible experience but glad Jane is OK. Tell them we hope recovery will be quick.
 

2psnapod1

Texas-South Chapter Leader-Retired
wow! What a lucky lady she is...so glad she escaped with the injuries she did...could have been so much worse.
 

wdk450

Well-known member
The one time I had to use a fire extinguisher (not in practice) was long ago in my bubbletop camper on a camping trip at Zepher Cove in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. There was a yellling commotion coming from a nearby camper who had a tabletop BBQ with flames coming out of the propane bottle connection area. I used my extinguisher after warning them of the dry chemical getting everywhere. It got the fire out.
You know, until now, I never thought of the chance of the same thing happening to me as I use my tabletop BBQ.

Thanks for the reminder!

Waiting for 10 days of forecast rain to start, with the NorLows, on the banks of the Sacramento River in Corning, Ca.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Thank God she was not injured any worse than it was. Fire is a very scary hazard. We wish them both all the best for recovery.
 

doxiecouple

Active Member
Realizing the 2012 season is "over" my thoughts apply to any year. I have been a Fire Safety professional and instructor for over 40 years. A key recommendation to all campers is to purchase an extinguisher, set a small fire in your fire pit, open grill, etc and PRACTICE the correct procedure for using an extinguisher. Practice should even include the male species too !! Extinguishers have a maximum effective range (usually 12-18 feet) and will only last as long as the propellant (typically nitrogen) is adequate to propel the agent out. If one aims and discharges all at once, you may run out of extinguishing agent. Always remember the Pull Aim Squeeze Sweep PASS method. Simply stated this means short rapid bursts in a sweeping motion. It is too late to learn when the fire is active. Other factors are important as well and it would take a lot of room to completely cover this important topic.
 
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JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
If Mac the Fireguy is at the Goshen Rally this summer, take his "class." And don't be afraid to step up and take a shot at his training fires.
 

skyguy

Well-known member
If Mac the Fireguy is at the Goshen Rally this summer, take his "class." And don't be afraid to step up and take a shot at his training fires.

What he said!!! Mac's class is very enlightening, and should not be missed.

Al S.
 

traveler44

Well-known member
Hope she is going to be okay. We rented an rv one time and the owner had replaced the gas water heater with an electric one and installed the wrong kind of fittings on the end of the gas line. The first time my wife tried cooking in it it blew up like a bomb and if we hadn't had the outside door open the pressure from the explosion might have killed us both. I ran out and turned the lp tank off. Luckily the kids were in the park swimming pool. Everybody in the camp ground came over to see if we were okay. We took it to an rv shop and they fixed the gas leak and told us what had happened. When we took it back the owner nearly had a fit because the windows were all duct taped in. I told him how lucky he was that nobody got hurt from his stupidity and that shut him up. Tom
 
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