Fire

[OTRA15]

At the lower right corner of the recent photo, is that a fire showing through a missing mechanical space door opening, like the water heater?





Good suggestions JM and here:

Originally Posted by twbucksr

. . .
My guess is it originated in the water heater or furnace area of the 27FB. Only places in this model where electrical, propane and wood are in the same general location.
. . .

If a short or mechanical failure of a propane valve occurred, that would certainly explain how the entire interior of the trailer was fully involved so quickly IMO.


Peter

[JBTX1994]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Almost certainly electrical.....

What kind of insulation is Airstream using these days? I’m having a hard time imagining what fueled such a fast moving fire.

What a bummer. Sorry to about the loss of your Trailer.

Edit; Maybe the heat strips in the heat pump went south starting a fire in the ductwork?

Our prime suspect is rear heat pump - but no more than hunch with location of noise and flames and smoke starting in this area... Firefighters said rapid movement is hallmark of all RV fires?!!

[centennialman]

Oh my gosh! I am so grateful that you are safe!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

At the lower right corner of the recent photo, is that a fire showing through a missing mechanical space door opening, like the water heater?

Good suggestions JM and here:
If a short or mechanical failure of a propane valve occurred, that would certainly explain how the entire interior of the trailer was fully involved so quickly IMO.
Peter

____________________

Appears that the plastic wheelhouse cover melted, fire exiting thru the wheelwell?

My guess...as noted, heat pump, electrical.
POI...in the second pic in the OP, looks like the I see the 'mouse wheel' of the AC/Heat Pump peeking thru that cut-out, may be enough left there for investigation/conformation.

I can relate to fire, lost our boat in storage.
(two AS's were also lost)
Nothing to salvage, the building was condemned. Not even insurance inspections allowed.


Stay on the insurance company, make copies and submit receipts for all personal property. In our case all claims were settled based on paperwork, as no physical confirmation was possible.
Do not underestimate the value of anything. I underestimated the price of our trailer and lost a grand.
I was surprised how quickly the claim was settled...39 days...all correspondence done by phone and email. Farmers/Foremost Marine.

Good luck...

Bob
🇺🇸

[OTRA15]

So . . . ignoring what started the fire, what could have possibly provided so much fuel for the fire to get so large so quickly?

Propane
plus
seat cushions fabric and foam
plus
curtains
plus
carpeting
???

That is one massive uniform fire IMO.

What was so instantly flammable?

Airstream owners everywhere want to know.

Peter

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by JBTX1994

Our prime suspect is rear heat pump - but no more than hunch with location of noise and flames and smoke starting in this area... Firefighters said rapid movement is hallmark of all RV fires?!!

Did they explain why? What materials provided so much fuel? Are the substances listed in my last post all flammable, with no fire retardant added to them?



From the initial sound which awakened you, to the time of the recent photo, how much time elapsed?

Thanks,

Peter

[Mansderm161]

Could this have happened while camping with hook up? That's the scary question. Definitely let us know cause if it is figured out. It definitely looks fueled so it seems the propane would have to be involved

[JBTX1994]

Originally Posted by centennialman

Oh my gosh! I am so grateful that you are safe!

Thx!!

[JBTX1994]

Originally Posted by twbucksr

It saddens me to read about this scary event. I am glad everyone is ok.

A few years ago we experienced a fatal fire of a 5th wheel at Lady Bird Johnson RV Park. The owner and his wife escaped but then he went back into it to get something while it was burning.

My guess is it originated in the water heater or furnace area of the 27FB. Only places in this model where electrical, propane and wood are in the same general location.

In the last 2 months I have seen a 30 amp electrical chord melted and the 50 amp chord blown off the trailer by power surges in the RV Park we full time in. Neither had surge protection at the power pedestal. I am curious where you were camped at when this happened and if you had a surge protector at the power pedestal. If so, what kind?

Surge protector at power pedestal. Not sure brand. Fire seemed to start near bath in ceiling as coming out of air outlet there first sighting...

[BnJ_AirTX]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

So . . . ignoring what started the fire, what could have possibly provided so much fuel for the fire to get so large so quickly?

Propane
plus
seat cushions fabric and foam
plus
curtains
plus
carpeting
???

That is one massive uniform fire IMO.

What was so instantly flammable?

Airstream owners everywhere want to know.

Peter

Propane tanks was not on and both tanks were recovered today and both were full. One may have had a little less than the other but we used It Saturday morning to cook breakfast.

[BnJ_AirTX]

Originally Posted by BnJ_AirTX

Propane tanks was not on and both tanks were recovered today and both were full. One may have had a little less than the other but we used It Saturday morning to cook breakfast.

Additionally I agree the fire was SO incredibly fast. The firemen said this was not unusual and they see four or five each yet.
I’m baffled at the speed and too wonder why everything basically just melted and fueled the fire.

[JBTX1994]

Originally Posted by nryn

Wow. I’m super sorry to see this happened to you. And have some concerns for myself about traveling with my kids in our Globetrotter next year.

Regarding receipts—you can many times reach out to the places you did business with to get a copy of the receipt. Often all you need to give them is a credit card number and sometimes a date range for the purchase. Won’t be possible, perhaps, for everything, but certainly for major purchases.

Keep us updated on your findings and recovery. Glad everyone is safe.

Plenty of time to get out after smoke alarm before fire inside. Not enough time to save things - but alarms definitely worked as they were designed to do- save lives. Enjoy your Globetrotter - but use our experience to be aware... as we all should be anyway!!

[BnJ_AirTX]

I stand convinced it was the heat pump/HVAC

[BnJ_AirTX]

Do you think Airstream will reach out?
I can discuss multiple other issues with this one and a 2016, 2017 that we owned prior.
The 2017 was an Interstate and it had the least issues but it should have a bed instead of a folding sofa and a separate shower. It was a great rv and much better attention to finish quality.

[JBTX1994]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Almost certainly electrical.....

What kind of insulation is Airstream using these days? I’m having a hard time imagining what fueled such a fast moving fire.

What a bummer. Sorry to about the loss of your Trailer.

Edit; Maybe the heat strips in the heat pump went south starting a fire in the ductwork?

Typical Globetrotter interior with no modifications other than food, clothes, bath accessories in cabinets. “Wood” walls throughout. No flammable liquids inside camper - kept charcoal, lighter, etc in back of pickup. Propane tanks both spared and batteries unscathed at front of camper??!!! Please keep ideas coming in..

[BnJ_AirTX]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Almost certainly electrical.....

What kind of insulation is Airstream using these days? I’m having a hard time imagining what fueled such a fast moving fire.

What a bummer. Sorry to about the loss of your Trailer.

Edit; Maybe the heat strips in the heat pump went south starting a fire in the ductwork?

The above is my best guess too after non stop troubleshooting in my head and based on the fire blowing from the ducts.

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by BnJ_AirTX

Additionally I agree the fire was SO incredibly fast. The firemen said this was not unusual and they see four or five each yet.
I’m baffled at the speed and too wonder why everything basically just melted and fueled the fire. Attachment 329522

I would expect a typical camper to burn quick, I’m kinda shocked that an Airstream burned that fast.

I am stuck wondering what kind of insulation is being used now, but then in one of the burn pictures it looks like some insulation in the front of the trailer survived... looks like fiberglass.

I wonder what kind of insulation is used in the ducting?

Someone here almost has to know.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by BnJ_AirTX

Propane tanks was not on and both tanks were recovered today and both were full. One may have had a little less than the other but we used It Saturday morning to cook breakfast.

Thanks for this detail, and for the post about flammable liquids being outside the trailer.

Most AS have Fiberglas insulation inside the walls, so we can rule that out for now IMO.

What about the other possible interior fuel sources in Post #25?

Originally Posted by OTRA15

So . . . ignoring what started the fire, what could have possibly provided so much fuel for the fire to get so large so quickly?
. . .
seat cushions fabric and foam
plus
curtains
plus
carpeting
???
. . .

Looks like our attention must turn to the flammability of the interior fabrics and surfaces . . . sad to say .

I remember watching a television documentary on the flammability of children's PJ's and sleep wear, before the manufacturers added flame retardant to the fabrics. It was scary how quickly the plastic fabric caught on fire and fully ignited almost instantly.

Airstream, what say ye?

Peter

[OTRA15]

PS -- As JM just suggested, what about the insulation around the heating/AC ducts? Is it a flammable foam, in which a fire could spread very rapidly from one end of the trailer to the other? In residential construction, this insulation is typically a Fiberglas material with a foil wrapping, so not that flammable IMO.

Has Airstream used a different material?

[OTRA15]

Thank you for your participation in the various other threads, Mr. Humphreys. Could you please bring this Fire thread to the attention of Airstream and Thor, so that we can all understand why this Globetrotter had such a severe fire which burned so quickly?

Thank you.

[click on orange arrow in quote to go to this other thread]

Originally Posted by jhumphreys

Hello team-

Justin Humphreys here, VP of Sales. I want to apologize to the poster of this thread for building this unit incorrectly. The mistakes on both the van yesterday and the trailer today were completely the fault of the sales team. Production built them exactly the way they were ordered and the dealers did not make any mistakes in ordering.

Since I am in charge of sales I personally take responsibility for these mistakes. We have checks in place to catch any errors but both orders were missed and we take full responsibility for it. Production did nothing wrong in either case, it was completely an order entry problem. We essentially chose the RB model instead of the FB in this case. We are reviewing the process internally to make sure it doesn't happen again.

The sales team here at the factory knows how exciting it is to hear your new Airstream has arrived. To know that due to our error the customer then finds out it was built incorrectly is beyond devastating for us. We take it very seriously that someone would entrust their hard earned money with us, and we are so sorry. Although error in orders are very rare, it should never, ever happen. My sincere apologies to those involved. If you have any concerns moving forward, please contact me directly at 937-596-6111 ext 7467.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. Thank you for your continued support and again, my apologies on the mistakes.

Justin Humphreys
VP Sales- Airstream, Inc.