Another SOB disaster (fire)

[Don Bradner]

One of the Motosat dealers who is a long-time member of my (DatastormUsers.com)
forums lost a 42-foot Safari Panther to fire yesterday. We haven't heard from
him yet, but this is a link to the story:
http://www.katu.com/news/local/8496952.html

Don Bradner
90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
Eureka, CA

[Terry Neal]

Gee Don,

Those folks are real lucky to be alive. I saw a similar fire a couple
of weeks ago on I90. Was going home to Bozeman in the evening & a
church group bus (I think it was an MCI 9) caught fire in the rear
engine compartment. Everyone got out ok but the bus basically just
melted into the pavement on the Interstate. Fire dept. trucks tried to
put it out with foam but it was too far gone by the time they got there.

Makes a person want to think about some sort of heat alarm system for
the back end? Possibly along with a Halon type extinguisher system?
Maybe include a camera in that compartment too? By the time you get one
of these stopped, it's probably going to be too late to do much with the
small extinguishers most of us carry anyway.

Thanks for sharing this with the group.

Terry Neal
Bozeman, MT
82PT40 6V92TA
74FC34 6V53T



Don Bradner wrote:

> One of the Motosat dealers who is a long-time member of my
> (DatastormUsers.com) forums lost a 42-foot Safari Panther to fire
> yesterday. We haven't heard from him yet, but this is a link to the
> story: http://www.katu.com/news/local/8496952.html
> <http://www.katu.com/news/local/8496952.html>
>
> Don Bradner
> 90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
> Eureka, CA
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[erniecarpet@...]

In a message dated 7/14/2007 6:01:09 P.M. Mountain Standard Time,
gl_smith@... writes:

Gary
SOB, and a friend of the owner of the fire destroyed Safari


Gary, your friends were sooooo lucky to get out of that inferno. I wonder
what was the cause?

Ernie Ekberg
83PT40
Livingston, Mt




************************************** Get a sneak peak of the all-new AOL at
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Rob Robinson]

My bird has an engine compartment fire alarm and previous owner put a Halon
extinguisher on board. I added, two ten pound Kidde foam and dry chem. I
think a fitted Halon system in the engine compartment would be the answer.


On 14/07/07, Terry Neal wrote:
>
> Gee Don,
>
> Those folks are real lucky to be alive. I saw a similar fire a couple
> of weeks ago on I90. Was going home to Bozeman in the evening & a
> church group bus (I think it was an MCI 9) caught fire in the rear
> engine compartment. Everyone got out ok but the bus basically just
> melted into the pavement on the Interstate. Fire dept. trucks tried to
> put it out with foam but it was too far gone by the time they got there.
>
> Makes a person want to think about some sort of heat alarm system for
> the back end? Possibly along with a Halon type extinguisher system?
> Maybe include a camera in that compartment too? By the time you get one
> of these stopped, it's probably going to be too late to do much with the
> small extinguishers most of us carry anyway.
>
> Thanks for sharing this with the group.
>
> Terry Neal
> Bozeman, MT
> 82PT40 6V92TA
> 74FC34 6V53T
>
> Don Bradner wrote:
>
> > One of the Motosat dealers who is a long-time member of my
> > (DatastormUsers.com) forums lost a 42-foot Safari Panther to fire
> > yesterday. We haven't heard from him yet, but this is a link to the
> > story: http://www.katu.com/news/local/8496952.html
> > <http://www.katu.com/news/local/8496952.html>
> >
> > Don Bradner
> > 90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
> > Eureka, CA
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>



--
Rob, Sue & Merlin Robinson
94 WLWB


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Terry Neal]

Like the idea of Halon back there Rob. You should have a mostly
enclosed area (airtight) for Halon to be real effective as it removes
most of the O2 from the atmosphere to kill a fire. Do you have any info
on the alarm itself? Heat activated or smoke or both. My DDA would
probably set it off every time I started it if it triggered by smoke!

Terry Neal
Bozeman, MT
82PT40 6V92TA
74FC34 6V53T



Rob Robinson wrote:

> My bird has an engine compartment fire alarm and previous owner put a
> Halon
> extinguisher on board. I added, two ten pound Kidde foam and dry chem. I
> think a fitted Halon system in the engine compartment would be the answer.
>
> On 14/07/07, Terry Neal > > wrote:
> >
> > Gee Don,
> >
> > Those folks are real lucky to be alive. I saw a similar fire a couple
> > of weeks ago on I90. Was going home to Bozeman in the evening & a
> > church group bus (I think it was an MCI 9) caught fire in the rear
> > engine compartment. Everyone got out ok but the bus basically just
> > melted into the pavement on the Interstate. Fire dept. trucks tried to
> > put it out with foam but it was too far gone by the time they got there.
> >
> > Makes a person want to think about some sort of heat alarm system for
> > the back end? Possibly along with a Halon type extinguisher system?
> > Maybe include a camera in that compartment too? By the time you get one
> > of these stopped, it's probably going to be too late to do much with the
> > small extinguishers most of us carry anyway.
> >
> > Thanks for sharing this with the group.
> >
> > Terry Neal
> > Bozeman, MT
> > 82PT40 6V92TA
> > 74FC34 6V53T
> >
> > Don Bradner wrote:
> >
> > > One of the Motosat dealers who is a long-time member of my
> > > (DatastormUsers.com) forums lost a 42-foot Safari Panther to fire
> > > yesterday. We haven't heard from him yet, but this is a link to the
> > > story: http://www.katu.com/news/local/8496952.html
> <http://www.katu.com/news/local/8496952.html>
> > > <http://www.katu.com/news/local/8496952.html
> <http://www.katu.com/news/local/8496952.html>>
> > >
> > > Don Bradner
> > > 90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
> > > Eureka, CA
> > >
> > >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
>
> --
> Rob, Sue & Merlin Robinson
> 94 WLWB
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Ryan Wright]

Terry,

I personally would not put an automatic extinguishing system back
there unless it was designed for that purpose, but something you could
activate yourself would be nice. Certainly some sort of fire alarm
would be a good idea, along with a camera or separate engine area
thermometer to verify before you push the "oh shit" button.

A member of a car forum I used to be involved with custom built
himself an engine fire extinguishing system. It was basically a couple
of large extinguishers mounted away from the engine, connected to
hoses pointed to maximize foam distribution. He used a pair of NOS
valves with a push-button in the dash to activate. Last I heard he
still hasn't had to use it, so who knows how effective it would be. He
did test with water and it all worked, just not sure if it would
really put a fire out.

Halon is a good idea but I wonder if it will displace enough oxygen.
Consider the engine will probably be running in the event of a fire,
which means you're sucking in tons of air with the radiator fan. If
you shut the engine down before activating the system, it might work,
but I'd think if you were on the move you'll still be introducing too
much oxygen to be effective. Then again I am far from an expert on the
specifics of halon fire extinguishing systems.

Lastly: I don't know about the rest of you, but if my engine did catch
fire, my only focus would be slowing the fire enough to get the coach
to the side of the road and get everyone out alive. To be honest, I'd
almost rather the whole darned thing burn, rather than deal with
replacing the back 1/3rd of the coach. At least then I could get a new
coach, rather than a halfway restored who knows if it's really right
job. Good luck trying to sell it down the road, people have enough
problems without dealing with this sort of history. So if you're not
trying to save the coach, it makes the fire suppression system a lot
easier to build. Just spray a big load of foam all over the darn
place. Just enough to slow the fire so you can make a timely escape.

-Ryan
'86 PT-40 8V92
Tri-Cities, WA


On 7/14/07, Terry Neal wrote:
>
> Gee Don,
>
> Those folks are real lucky to be alive. I saw a similar fire a couple
> of weeks ago on I90. Was going home to Bozeman in the evening & a
> church group bus (I think it was an MCI 9) caught fire in the rear
> engine compartment. Everyone got out ok but the bus basically just
> melted into the pavement on the Interstate. Fire dept. trucks tried to
> put it out with foam but it was too far gone by the time they got there.
>
> Makes a person want to think about some sort of heat alarm system for
> the back end? Possibly along with a Halon type extinguisher system?
> Maybe include a camera in that compartment too? By the time you get one
> of these stopped, it's probably going to be too late to do much with the
> small extinguishers most of us carry anyway.
>
> Thanks for sharing this with the group.
>
> Terry Neal
> Bozeman, MT
> 82PT40 6V92TA
> 74FC34 6V53T

[trekkersmith1]

Check out the engine fire supression system here:
http://www.macthefireguy.com/fire_safety_products.htm Mac gives
impressive fire safety seminars at major RV rallies all over the
country, and will be in Redmond, OR soon.

Pricy, but if it saves your rig, who comes out ahead?

Gary
SOB, and a friend of the owner of the fire destroyed Safari.


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Ryan Wright"
wrote:
>
> Terry,
>
> I personally would not put an automatic extinguishing system back
> there unless it was designed for that purpose, but something you could
> activate yourself would be nice. Certainly some sort of fire alarm
> would be a good idea, along with a camera or separate engine area
> thermometer to verify before you push the "oh shit" button.
>

[Scott Forman]

Anybody using these products? 280 degrees doesn't sound very high
with hot turbos and exhaust pipes nearby...what's the word on that?
How many bottles would it take to cover a PT engine compartment?

Scott Forman
86 PT38
Memphis

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "trekkersmith1"
wrote:
>
> Check out the engine fire supression system here:
> http://www.macthefireguy.com/fire_safety_products.htm Mac gives
> impressive fire safety seminars at major RV rallies all over the
> country, and will be in Redmond, OR soon.
>
> Pricy, but if it saves your rig, who comes out ahead?
>
> Gary
> SOB, and a friend of the owner of the fire destroyed Safari.
>
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Ryan Wright"
> wrote:
> >
> > Terry,
> >
> > I personally would not put an automatic extinguishing system back
> > there unless it was designed for that purpose, but something you
could
> > activate yourself would be nice. Certainly some sort of fire alarm
> > would be a good idea, along with a camera or separate engine area
> > thermometer to verify before you push the "oh shit" button.
> >
>

[Pete Masterson]

Do you know where to get the sensor for the fire alarm?

The dealer who had my coach before I got it replaced the fire alarm
sensor, but it goes off when the engine simply gets up to temperature
(not very helpful!) The one they used was "in stock" ... It's been
disconnected, but I'd like to install a sensor with the right
temperature rating.

Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
El Sobrante CA
aeonix1@...



On Jul 14, 2007, at 2:13 PM, Rob Robinson wrote:

> My bird has an engine compartment fire alarm and previous owner put
> a Halon
> extinguisher on board. I added, two ten pound Kidde foam and dry
> chem. I
> think a fitted Halon system in the engine compartment would be the
> answer.
>
<snip>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[iwander_85pt40]

My oh My, do those pictures bring back some memories of my days in the
towing industry.

More than once did I have to flatbed the remains of burnt down
motorhomes, with all that junk flying off the truck.

It doesn't take long to become fully engulfed.

Phil Corpus
'iWander' 85PT40
Left Coast
http://www.southwest-bluebirds.org

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Don Bradner"
wrote:
>
> One of the Motosat dealers who is a long-time member of my
(DatastormUsers.com) forums lost a 42-foot Safari Panther to fire
yesterday. We haven't heard from him yet, but this is a link to the
story: http://www.katu.com/news/local/8496952.html
>
> Don Bradner
> 90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
> Eureka, CA
>