RV Fire Safety

Introduction

RV fires can be deadly. RVs are built with a large quantity of flammable materials that can transform a small fire into a major fire in seconds. RVs typically come with the minimum for fire protection, a basic dry chemical fire extinguisher that is really too small to handle a fire of any real size. Plus it's generally located at the front entrance, which doesn't help you very much if you are sleeping in the rear of the coach when it starts. Then it's time to bail out the window and watch it burn. It's best to upgrade to larger and better fire extinguishers as well as to have multiple extinguishers so that you will have easy access to them when they are needed. I've done this on my coach and I've also taken it one step farther and installed an automatic fire suppression system in the engine bay, which is where many fires start. A rear engined diesel powered coach has lots of fuel, wiring, and heat so your odds are high of having a fire in this area.

I've broken my RV Fire Safety into two sections. The first is an overview of fires and extinguisher types. This will explain the differences between the various extinguisher classes as well as which works best for each type of fire. It will also provide RV specific recommendations on how to best protect yourself. The second will detail the installation of an automatic fire suppression system in my Allegro Bus and can serve as a tutorial for anyone else contemplating this safety upgrade for their own coach.

My hope is that you'll better understand the implications of an RV fire as well as how to best deal with them. Hopefully it'll give you some food for thought so that you can develop your own fire safety and protection plan.

Mark Quasius - "Cruzer"

Index