Motorhome fire kills family pet

[Wildman]

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family lucky to be alive as motorhome they were in minutes before explodes.
As if that was not bad enough, and losing the family dog, they now find their personal possessions were not covered by insurance, only items related to the van itself. So a wake up call. Have your Habitation check done, don't leave gas switched on, and check the details of your insurance.

 

[sinbad1]

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family lucky to be alive as motorhome they were in minutes before explodes.
As if that was not bad enough, and losing the family dog, they now find their personal possessions were not covered by insurance, only items related to the van itself. So a wake up call. Have your Habitation check done, don't leave gas switched on, and check the details of your insurance.

Crickey must be a neighbour !! i'm in Forest Town Do'nt know the family ;but doesn't bare thinking about.

 

[American Dream]

Too close for comfort...

So glad they escaped what could have been a very tragic loss of life.Losing the Family pet must be heartbreaking but it could have been a LOT worse.

It's a wake-up call to us all.

 

[Caztur]

How awful for them. I'd be gutted if that happened to my dogs.

But wouldn't their personal possessions be covered by their home contents policy?

 

[scotjimland]

Lucky escape indeed, fire is my worst fear..

The inferno is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault which sparked and ignited the motorhome's gas canister ––.

but an odd explanation .. electrical kit shouldn't be in a gas locker .. unless it has be home 'modded' .. ?

I have two electrical lockers, one for the habitation and one for the chassis ... as a precaution I fitted a smoke detector in each locker.. fire in a basement locker or garage could go unnoticed until it was well alight .. LPG tank is in an 'open' locker.

Inside we have two smoke detectors .. good quality Kidde ones with ten year life batteries, test and mute buttons.. worth paying the extra for.

Other kit.

Fire blanket in kitchen
1kg and 2kg dry power extinguishers

If you have dry power extinguishers, check they haven't gone solid by shaking them up and down.. dry power settles due to being vibrated while travelling.. if you can't feel the powder moving it's time to replace, also check the pressure gauge.

Most importantly:
Demonstrate to everyone how to use..

Have an escape plan worked out, and make sure everyone knows how to exit in an emergency, a fire in the night would be disorienting .. know your escape route and don't have bolts on doors that makes them difficult to open in the dark .. I'm thinking of DIY chains , bars etc..

Fortunately a fire in a motorhome/caravan is relatively rare .. but nearly always catastrophic ..

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[sinbad1]

Quote:
The inferno is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault which sparked and ignited the motorhome's gas canister ––.

Does seem an odd statment, one danger that maybe people are not aware of and is somewhat hidden from view is the fridge pilot light.

Any small gas leaks can build up to the point of explosion, same with any petrol vapour, beit from gennies or gerry cans that are not in dedicated lockers.

Regards

 

[madbluemad]

Its always sad to hear of this sought of thing (Note to self: Buy a Fire Blanket).

I have to agree that you should have an escape plan. It was one of the first things that we did.

Dont get to paranoid, be sensible and stay safe and you should never have a problem.

Take your time.

Jim

 

[solitaire woman]

Just wondered about the habitation certificate and gas safety check. Do you legally have to have one done each year for your insurance to be valid, or would you still be covered if you didnt have one. Have never thought to ask my insurance.

 

[sinbad1]

Just wondered about the habitation certificate and gas safety check. Do you legally have to have one done each year for your insurance to be valid, or would you still be covered if you didnt have one. Have never thought to ask my insurance.

It is not a legal requirement

Click here for information on motorhome habitation etc

Regards

 

[hilldweller]

family lucky to be alive as motorhome they were in minutes before explodes.

I told them not to re-fill that gas tank.

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[ginge61]

no smoke alarm etc well what can you say ours has the lot smoke carbon monoxide gas sniffer and the norm gas shut off found on most american rv as for habitation check its just another mot only good for the time its looked at no good after and not even as stated a legal reqirement ohh ours is an old one too 89 reg so where are the europen manafactures . treat it as you would at home your house dosent need a habitation check

 

[Colomane]

Hi there,

We know how you felt, we had our Hymer 6 berth stolen in Spain October last year, we had all our gear in it, plus the Dog and Cat, still not found, also the travel insurance has not covered our possessions as we did not tisk LOST CASES (baggage) if you have baggage, tick all boxes, also the Van insurance, only pays out upto £2000 for personal effects, laptops, we had three, one for someone else, camers etc only upto £350 inc vat, so get seperate quotes for all your gear. Luckily they paid out for the Tracvision R4 and the Solar panel setup we had fited, nearly £4000, as the Insurance company says, only if it was fitted when you bought it, or standard fitting.

So, £8000 loss on the van and goods we were carrying, plus the pets, passports etc, we were only gone for 40 minutes, they found the van 200km away, stripped out and in a mess, have pics before and after.

So, we know how and what you are going through, we had to wait for 4 weeks to get passports from Madrid, at a cost of €150 each plus €16 courier charge.

Colomane.: Sad:

 

[madbluemad]

no smoke alarm etc well what can you say ours has the lot smoke carbon monoxide gas sniffer and the norm gas shut off found on most american rv as for habitation check its just another mot only good for the time its looked at no good after and not even as stated a legal reqirement ohh ours is an old one too 89 reg so where are the europen manafactures . treat it as you would at home your house dosent need a habitation check

I would tend to agree with you on the habitation check ginge. Iv'e just had mine done and I know for a sure fire fact that they havent done one. It only takes a few checks of my own to know that the majority of the items that should have been inspected havent been.

Most people tend to inspect the habitation area themselves anyway during the course of the year. I think I will print out the hab check, check list and do it myself from now on.

The only part of the habitation area that I will have checked out by a pro is the gas system.

Jim