wdk450
Well-known member
Gang:
I just finished a 3 week stay at Thousand Trails Pio Pico near Chula Vista, Ca. During my stay, a luxury Class A parked for over 2 years in a leased site, caught fire and burned to the ground. Fortunately, everyone got out safely. Preliminary opinion by the insurance investigator is that this is another RV ammonia adsorption refrigerator fire.
I am posting this as a reminder as the high RVing season is upon us, to think about fire safety in your RV. Admittedly RV fires are statically pretty rare, but when they happen they are devastating to the RV and a threat to the lives of all in the RV. Any of us with ammonia adsorption refrigerators should think VERY STRONGLY in investing in a self-deploying Halon fire extinguisher for the external refrigerator compartment. You can buy these from the RV Cooling Unit Warehouse, or Mac The Fire Guy. They both have websites.
Also think about how you, your loved ones, and your fur babies could get out of your rig in the event of a fire in less than 2 minutes (the time for toxic smoke to become overwhelming). Also think about an alternate escape route if the fire blocks the main entrance. I bought an apartment chain ladder to drop out the bedroom window, along with a pillow and window prop bar to escape my rig via the bedroom window. I also bought a 10 lb fire extinguisher to replace the smaller Heartland-supplied extinguisher by the door. The Heartland extinguisher is now mounted near the stove cooktop.
In 2012 I witnessed an active RV refrigerator fire in an old Class A as the rig pulled into Betebel RV park in San Juan Bautista, Ca. It didn't burn to the ground, but the refrigerator compartment burned out, and the interior smoke damage was significant.
I invite anyone who is interested to do a Google Images search of "RV Refrigerator Fires".
A happy summer and safe RVing to all my Heartland friends.
Oh, BTW - I didn't seem to find a specific area on the forum for Fire Safety. This "Smoke Detectors" area was the nearest I could find for this important topic.
I just finished a 3 week stay at Thousand Trails Pio Pico near Chula Vista, Ca. During my stay, a luxury Class A parked for over 2 years in a leased site, caught fire and burned to the ground. Fortunately, everyone got out safely. Preliminary opinion by the insurance investigator is that this is another RV ammonia adsorption refrigerator fire.
I am posting this as a reminder as the high RVing season is upon us, to think about fire safety in your RV. Admittedly RV fires are statically pretty rare, but when they happen they are devastating to the RV and a threat to the lives of all in the RV. Any of us with ammonia adsorption refrigerators should think VERY STRONGLY in investing in a self-deploying Halon fire extinguisher for the external refrigerator compartment. You can buy these from the RV Cooling Unit Warehouse, or Mac The Fire Guy. They both have websites.
Also think about how you, your loved ones, and your fur babies could get out of your rig in the event of a fire in less than 2 minutes (the time for toxic smoke to become overwhelming). Also think about an alternate escape route if the fire blocks the main entrance. I bought an apartment chain ladder to drop out the bedroom window, along with a pillow and window prop bar to escape my rig via the bedroom window. I also bought a 10 lb fire extinguisher to replace the smaller Heartland-supplied extinguisher by the door. The Heartland extinguisher is now mounted near the stove cooktop.
In 2012 I witnessed an active RV refrigerator fire in an old Class A as the rig pulled into Betebel RV park in San Juan Bautista, Ca. It didn't burn to the ground, but the refrigerator compartment burned out, and the interior smoke damage was significant.
I invite anyone who is interested to do a Google Images search of "RV Refrigerator Fires".
A happy summer and safe RVing to all my Heartland friends.
Oh, BTW - I didn't seem to find a specific area on the forum for Fire Safety. This "Smoke Detectors" area was the nearest I could find for this important topic.
