Coach Fire

[phorner]

One of our neighbors here at the Outdoor Resorts in St. Lucie West had their 202 Monaco Signature go up in flames.

At about 7:00 am a week ago Friday, the owner awakened to what he described as a "fog" in the coach, and went outside to investigate. What he found was the engine compartment ablaze. He did not remember any smoke alarm going off.

As you can see, the engine compartment suffered the most severe damage, but the inside looks just as bad. No real answer as to what started the fire as the engine was off, yet we all know that certain engine components still retain electric current, which is the suspect cause.

It is interesting to note that in the middle of the fire, apparently as insulation was burning off some wiring, the engine actually started cranking over! Didn't last long but a real attention getter!

This guy takes meticulous care of his coach. Always serviced, even the most minor issues taken care of. They are full-timers and this is a serious blow to their lifestyle.

[edsaylor]

Paul: That really looks bad. Who was it or their lot number? Sure could not tell anything about the coach from all the dammage. Glad they were not hurt. Ed

[phorner]

Ed,

That coach belongs to Roger and Flo, in the cul-de-sac. No one hurt, but a total loss of the coach.

FWIW Progressive Insurance was on the scene within a couple of hours of being notified.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Having experienced a serious engine compartment fire I can say that our coaches have a firewall around the engine compartment that will not be easily breached. Seeing the photos I do not see the same level of protection.

Our fire was so intense on the passenger side that it literally melted every chassis and house battery, and while the external cannister of the air cleaner was not penetrated, the heat inside it was so great the air cleaner element ignited. Yet despite that we had no smoke odor or soot in the house, the clothes in the rear closet were unaffected, and every single house system worked the three days we remained in it hooked up to Prevost JAX shore power. Even though every house battery was destroyed our converters supplied all the 12V power we required.

Obviously once a fire gains a footing and spreads beyond the engine compartment all bets are off on our coaches, but having experienced an engine fire I am more confident of our coaches than ever.

[JIM KELLER]

Is that the harmonic balancer on the engine ? I never realized the motor sat that low in those model coaches

[garyde]

Can they determine the cause of the fire? It would be nice to know how some of these fires get started. Is there any capacitors or voltage regulators which could cause this. Transformers, ballasts, loose connections at different terminations. Its important to keep an eye on the electrical connections.
Prevost has one heat fire sensor in the engine compartment. I wonder if Monaco had a sensor.

[phorner]

The recovery team arrived Tuesday to remove the coach. They used a winch to pull it off the lot, a wrecker to tow it out of the immediate area and ultimately a flat bed to haul it away.

Not pretty....

[garyde]

Hi Paul. How are the owners doing? Is there any new news on the cause of the fire.