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Topic: Fire Prevention/Protection Tips (Read 1033 times) previous topic - next topic

Fire Prevention/Protection Tips

I saw this posted on a yahoo group to which I subscribe and thought I would post it here in case it is of benefit to anyone.  This was written by Sherry, not by me.  I hope no one here ever has to experience an RV fire.

While at Quartzsite, I unfortunately got to watch a gal in our group's rig burn to the ground. It was horrific! subsequently Mac McCoy ("the fire guy" who teaches at FMCA or other rallies) gave an excellent talk on fire safety for RVers. He covered a lot of ground that I can't begin to reproduce here but some key things he said are worth sharing with everyone who RVs, so here goes...

-- When a fire happens in your RV, you will have 20 seconds to get out! You might get lucky and have more but plan for 20 seconds.
-- Do not try to fight the fire (except possibly a small kitchen one). Just get out.
-- Know where your emergency exits are.
-- Make an exit plan for each half of your rig then actually do it! Open and go out the emergency exit window! Back your rig next to a picnic table or other place where you can drop out safely. In an emergency, you make break a leg but that's easily fixed. Burns are not!
-- Make sure your emergency exit windows will open (and that you know how to do that). If they're stuck - most are - then gently tap all around them with your fist until they free up and will open. Once opened, lubricate the seals before closing again.
-- Consider buying a "safety hammer" that's designed to break safety glass. Neither you nor anything handy in your rig will break the glass fast enough if that window won't open. The hammer is designed to break safety glass with 1 or 2 hits then clear it out of the frame with a swipe or two
-- use a blanket over the window frame then crawl out *belly down*. The blanket will cushion your midsection and can be used to wrap around you once you get outside

Some important additional points:
-- Know where your fire extinguishers are. Have one outside in a bay. Check that all are in operable condition. Know how to operate each of them! Always aim for the base of the fire, not the flames.
-- Shake your fire extinguishers hard until you can feel the powder inside moving. Tap repeatedly if they sound solid until the sound changes. Do this every month! Settled powder compacts, especially from jostling down the road, so that the extinguisher won;t work when you need it
-- Consider buying a halon extinguisher to install (velcro or screwed in via the clip) in your fridge outside compartment. Fridge fires are a major cause of RV fires.
-- EVERY NORCOLD FRIDGE FROM 1996 TO NOW IS UNDER RECALL!!!!! Even if yours was recently repaired under recall, do it again! The latest recall just happened on Jan. 15! Get yours fixed (free) and still install the extinguisher ($174 from RV Safety)
-- Make sure your CO monitor is mounted on the ceiling or no more than 4 inches down from the ceiling on a wall. CO is lighter than air. If you have a Winnebago, buy a separate CO monitor. (FYI for your friends: Winnebago installed them next to the propane detector close to the floor. Owners would be dead before that alarm would go off)
-- Replace all your monitors (fire, propane, CO) every 5 years. The battery may still work fine but the sensing element won't.
-- Close your bedroom door when you sleep. It will buy you a few extra seconds to get out in the event of a fire. If your fire alarm goes off, *before* you rush out of bed, raise your arm up. If the air feels hot, stay down below it by rolling off the bed onto the floor. Do NOT stand up! There's "super heated air" in your rig. Crawl to the RV door, be prepared to rush out the instant you open the door because the inrush of air can cause an explosion when it meets the super heated air.
-- Always use the back of your hand to check for heat if you suspect a fire, not your palm. If you burn your fingers using your palm, you will not be able to grasp window latches, extinguisher handles, etc.

Lastly, I highly recommend everyone take a fire safety class when you're at a rally that offers one.

Sherry
98 Serengeti 4066
Morris and Janice
1997 U270 36'

Re: Fire Prevention/Protection Tips

Reply #1 –
Quote
-- EVERY NORCOLD FRIDGE FROM 1996 TO NOW IS UNDER RECALL!!!!! Even if yours was recently repaired under recall, do it again! The latest recall just happened on Jan. 15! Get yours fixed (free) and still install the extinguisher ($174 from RV Safety)
Not sure about that statement.  My Norcold is Model No. 982 in a 1997 motorhome.  I've searched the below site and did not find this model in their recall.  Has anyone else checked their Norcold for recalls?
 
Norcold Recall
Peter & Beth Martin
No Forrest? What have you done?
MC# 15890 until Dec 2016; FMCA #F329677
Cincinnati, OH

Re: Fire Prevention/Protection Tips

Reply #2 –
Our Norcold 682 which is working fine, is also not on the fridge recall list. But we will soon replace it with a Whirlpool all electric that should fit in the same 24" space as our Norcold.
By the way, our inside fridge label has a strange font for model number and it is very hard to be sure that our model # is 682, without research.

Re: Fire Prevention/Protection Tips

Reply #3 –
Quote from: Barry & Cindy –
Our Norcold 682 which is working fine, is also not on the fridge recall list. But we will soon replace it with a Whirlpool all electric that should fit in the same 24" space as our Norcold.
By the way, our inside fridge label has a strange font for model number and it is very hard to be sure that our model # is 682, without research.
Barry, I had to replace the Door hinges on the Norcold in 2003.  I used the model No. 982 back then to order the parts.  I agree that it's hard to read these numbers.
Peter & Beth Martin
No Forrest? What have you done?
MC# 15890 until Dec 2016; FMCA #F329677
Cincinnati, OH

Re: Fire Prevention/Protection Tips

Reply #4 –
Just downloaded the manuals from Norcold, and these are attached.  I believe the difference between the 982 & the 682 is that the 682 has a heater between the freezer & main compartments that can be operator selected to be on or off.
Peter & Beth Martin
No Forrest? What have you done?
MC# 15890 until Dec 2016; FMCA #F329677
Cincinnati, OH

Re: Fire Prevention/Protection Tips

Reply #5 –
We have an almost new Norcold and like Peter & Beth have posted,  recalls do NOT apply to all models.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is only very slightly lighter than air and generally will mix with the surrounding air with normal air movement. Hot toxic gases will be located close to the ceiling in a fire. Never use a ventless heater without a window cracked an inch or so and NEVER if it shows any yellow in the flame as the yellow portion is producing CO (from incomplete combustion).

Refrigerators ARE time bombs with coil rust through only a matter of time with most ammonia based fridges. Ammonia is flammable in concentrations of between 15 and 28 percent by volume. It does have a lower odor threshold that makes it detectable (by smell) long before 15% is reached (if someone is in the coach). The problem is that the refrigerator is surrounded by highly combustible wood in most RVs and a flame (while operating on propane) is present at all times. Lots of for sale ads for RVs damaged by reefer fires.

Lot of good advice in the article and I did not mean to pick it apart. Having a fire plan and knowing where extinguishers are located is good insurance.

Note: if you by accident partially discharge a dry chemical extinguisher, it will have to be serviced as the powder will not allow the valve to seat and it will quickly become useless.

No matter how bad the weather is outside, don't smoke in your RV!

Pierce & Gaylie
(retired SBFD)
U300/36





Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Fire Prevention/Protection Tips

Reply #6 –
When you think about the value that is at stake, I would suggest that you toss out your powder fire extinguishers and replace with them with foam.  If you have a small fire and you put it out with powder, you will spend a lot more money and time in getting rid of the powder residue that will coat everything than you would spend on a foam fire extinguisher which does not float in the air during use.  In addition, some of the powder based extinguishers contain chemicals that are not lung friendly.

As a young guy just out of college and in my first bachelor apartment I had a kitchen broiler fire.  I grabbed the dry powder extinguisher in the hallway and put the fire out.  Then I spent all of two days cleaning the apartment, and it was very small.  Ruined my steak dinner, too.

Mac presents a great seminar.  But it is easy to reach overload with all of the information he packs into a 60 or 90 minute presentation.  Sherry did a good job of reporting -- even if all Norcold refrigerators are not under recall.

The best thing here is that she got us all to thinking about fire safety.

Thanks, Sherry
George Stoltz.  Retired from full-time living in a great Foretravel and now are back to living in a traditional sticks and bricks in Florida.
 

Re: Fire Prevention/Protection Tips

Reply #7 –
Peter, good info to help understand what Norcold model number we have.