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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Dramatic video of an RV going up in flames


This is the most dramatic video of an RV fire we have yet seen on the Web. In this nearly four minute segment taped by a passing motorist on Washington state's Stevens Pass, a recent model diesel pusher motorhome and its dinghy go rapidly up in flames. By the time the first firetruck arrives, the RV and car are toast. At that point, the videographer is told to leave by authorities because live ammunition is going off inside the burning rig. This video is not for the faint of heart.

13 comments:

  1. How did this fire start, anyone know...really scary video.

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  2. Pretty dramatic-- amazes me to see all the vehicles going around it-- guess they are in a hurry?

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  3. I hope the owners of the RV made it out safely.

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  4. All I could think about was did the people make it out. I certainly wish the rest of the story was there, like how did it occur and most important are the people safe.

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  5. Chuck, is that Nightwish playing with this video?

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  6. Certainly makes the point about getting out fast at the first sign of trouble.Reminded me to keep all personal essentials upfront and handy while driving.

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  7. We are full timers, and I must say this video is scary, to say the least. Looks like it may have started in the engine area.... possible?

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  8. Sent this to two of my firefighter relatives and they wondered if the clip had been sent or made available to the Fire Dept that responded. It would be helpful for training as it shows how the fire spread.

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  9. This video supports info I saw recently, perhaps on ths site. Most RV fires occur in Class A MH, in the engine compartment. Class A MHs do not meet federal safety standards...ever see an airbag in one?

    All of which convinced us to buy a fifth wheel with a much safer one ton Ford truck.

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  10. What I find amazing is that nobody seems to know how to hold a video camera still. Hell, set the thing down on the roof of the car and then train it in, if you don't want your audience to be sick.

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  11. Sure looks like an engine fire to me. Also it looks like a pretty steep grade, so my guess is that the engine overheated on the climb and the driver didn't notice, or perhaps an exhaust leak into the engine compartment did it or something. Protection against this would be a temperature alarm in the engine compartment, but few have this. A good fire extinguisher may have been able to put it out in the first minute or so--either a halon system in the engine compartment or a foam system might do it. Good idea to keep the extinguisher up front so you can grab it on the way out. I have a big handheld foam unit and I would have tried spraying through the rear vents into the engine compartment--not sure I would have tried to open it! After it gets going though, its probably best that it burns to a total loss.... I'd rather have insurance proceeds than to try to fix it after a fire like this! Fulltimers like me need not worry that this will happen while parked :)

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  12. Post #2 says, "Pretty dramatic-- amazes me to see all the vehicles going around it-- guess they are in a hurry?"

    Dude, I sure as hell wouldn't just sit there and watch it burn. What good is that? I would get my family out of harms way (keep driving), as quickly and safely as possible.

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  13. Yeah, because racing around a burning motorhome is always a smart thing to do. Heaven forbid people wanted to GET OUT of it, but were unable due to passing traffic. How about being run over as you were trying to flee your burning RV? Yeah, that would suck.

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