Photo By Jack Adamyk | The charred carcass of a 34-foot motorhome gutted by an early evening blaze minutes...... read more read more
An early morning fire at the recreational vehicle park aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, destroys one vehicle but a quick response by MCLB Barstow Fire and Emergency Services saves surrounding RVs, Feb. 15.
Jeffrey Hinton said his 34-foot camper caught fire Saturday around 7:30 p.m.
A Marine Corps Fire and Emergency Services investigation of the blaze identified the cause as a malfunction in the cooling system of a refrigerator in the vehicle’s kitchen area.
Hinton said that particular refrigerator model has had a recall issued on it by the manufacturer for units constructed from 2003 to 2013 with a warning that the motor was prone to overheating and could cause fires.
“The RV was pre-owned when I bought it and I received no recall notice,” Hinton said. “I bought the camper from (a large out-of-state RV reseller) in 2016. They would have been responsible for making sure the recalled refrigerator was repaired before the camper was resold. I’m not sure if they did that or not.”
He said he credits the quick response by the fire crews with keeping the blaze from spreading to his neighbors on either side of him.
“My neighbor was awakened by the heat and flames. He had to drive to the front gate to tell them about the fire and the police officer called dispatch and they contacted the fire department. They got here is less than five minutes from the time they were notified,” Hinton explained.
One of his neighbor’s RV did suffer minor damage when the heat caused one of its windows to blow out, but no one was injured.
“I was not home at the time. I was in Las Vegas visiting my son,” Hinton said. “If I had been here and asleep when the fire started, my smoke alarms would have alerted me. But, since the insulation on these campers gives off toxic fumes when burned, I’m not at all sure that I could have gotten out in time.”
Gabriel Hammett, firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician, MCLB Barstow F&ES, said this particular refrigerator found in Hinton’s camper is designed especially for RV use, and depends on using a chemical process using propane to draw heat away from the refrigerator. A malfunction in the unit caused the chemicals to get too hot and expand the copper tubing used to contain them. After the refrigerator shuts off temporarily, the expanded metal contracts back to normal size. After several of these expansions and contractions the metal eventually breaks, releasing hydrogen and propane gas into the atmosphere of the RV. Those highly flammable gases are then ignited by electrical sources.
“Our fire crews getting on scene as quickly as they did prevented the camper from becoming fully engulfed which would have spread to the RVs on either side very quickly,” Hammett explained.
Do not take anything for granted when it comes to fire safety, he emphasized.
“Do your due diligence research on not only refrigerators but on the hot water heaters, furnaces, ovens and stoves, the converter boxes, or anything like that; just go to the manufacturer’s sites and see if there are any recalls issued,” Hammett said.
Hinton described the RV and his belongings as being a total loss.
“This model of RV is worth $45,000, plus I lost all of my property in the fire,” he said. “I have five pairs of pants, four shirts and a jacket left.”
Hinton is employed as a police officer and the chief of security at Production Plant Barstow, Marine Depot Maintenance Command aboard the Yermo Annex of MCLB Barstow.
“I’ve lived in RVs full time since 2006,” he said. “I’m sad that I lost all of my belongings, but grateful that no one was hurt. You can only go up from here. I’m already shopping for a new RV.”
Meanwhile, Hinton said he has a place to stay for now until he can get another RV.
“(Colonel Craig Clemans, commanding officer) and (Marine Corps Community Services) have been very kind to me and they’ve given me room over in the officers’ quarters by the (Maj. Gen. James L.) Day Conference Center for as long as I need it,” Hinton said.
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 02.28.2020 18:45 |
| Story ID: | 364198 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fire & Emergency Services saves MCLB RV park from destructive blaze, by Keith Hayes, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
