Truck Fire!!!

[big mike71]

I have so much insurance on my truck, I would punch anybody that tried to put the fire out.

[68shortwide]

Damn that sucks man, I'm a senior in hs (three weekend left, thank the Lord) and understand the frustration. Guys who are giving him flak about the attitude, how would you feel if you dump a bunch of money into a truck (money at my age is quite appreciated) only to see a firefighter use a pry bar instead of at least attempting to find a handle/latch? I'd be pissed as hell if a firefighter (I appreciate what you guys do I honestly, really do.) told me he didn't give a f*** if he used an axe on my truck. I see where his anger and frustration comes from. Welcome to the board from Stl Mo btw bro lol

[truckster]

Originally Posted by 68shortwide

Damn that sucks man, I'm a senior in hs (three weekend left, thank the Lord) and understand the frustration. Guys who are giving him flak about the attitude, how would you feel if you dump a bunch of money into a truck (money at my age is quite appreciated) only to see a firefighter use a pry bar instead of at least attempting to find a handle/latch? I'd be pissed as hell if a firefighter (I appreciate what you guys do I honestly, really do.) told me he didn't give a f*** if he used an axe on my truck. I see where his anger and frustration comes from. Welcome to the board from Stl Mo btw bro lol

A firefighter's mission is to protect life and property, in that order. There's nothing in that truck worth a firefighter's life, and if opening it with a pry bar or an axe or even a rescue saw is the fastest and safest way to get to the fire, so be it.

I agree with other who say the OP owes the firefighters an apology and a thank-you.

[Vintage Windmills]

Are the hoods really able to be opened with a prybar? If you slip it between the grille, which is soft aluminum and the hood on these trucks, I'm guessing all you will accomplish is bending the grille down. That is probably why guy #2 ran up with an axe? I have extinguishers in all vehicles, it is cheap insurance. I amazed at how many people don't carry one.

[treveiger]

Hey if anybody thinks they can do it better become a firefighter then. Had one die a week ago up here trying to save someone's life... I understand you put a lot of time in your truck but what if you built a house and they needed to get in with a axe to save a loved ones life, would you flip then. They go into protecting people's life mode when there's a fire not lets do as little damage as possible to the object. Takes a lot to be a firefighter.

[68shortwide]

Originally Posted by truckster

A firefighter's mission is to protect life and property, in that order. There's nothing in that truck worth a firefighter's life, and if opening it with a pry bar or an axe or even a rescue saw is the fastest and safest way to get to the fire, so be it.

I agree with other who say the OP owes the firefighters an apology and a thank-you.

I completely understand that, I'm simply saying I understand him flipping sh*t when his (presumably) first truck and pride and joy gets a pry bar to the hood, let alone an ax. And if you're bringing in life or death he's still just as close to the fire using a pry bar as he is opening the latch. Anyway my point is can we stop busting his balls and welcome him to the forum instead of makin ourselves look like a**holes callin him out and harassin him for caring about his truck? Rant over. Hope you get everything straightened out and fixed soon.

[slikside]

Future reference....for anyone....firefighters, correct me if I am wrong:

If you are faced with a smolder coming from under the hood, AND you lack the means to extinguish it, don't even open the hood. (Unless you KNOW/smell that it's electrical and not petroleum...to disconnect the battery) It's like a damper. You open it, and now you have maximum airflow to the fire. I might even suggest if you do have an extinguisher, keeping the hood closed and using it from underneath.

As for the OP's reaction, well... It's got to be an emotional experience to see your truck burning, throw in the youth factor, and I can see how it all happens. Not saying it's perfectly OK, just that I can understand how it went down the way it did. That said, the doughnuts and beer (with help from Dad, of course) would go along way to smoothing things over, I imagine.

[Chevy 350 Fan]

I think the brake fluid sprayed out on the header when I hit the brakes at a red light shortly before the truck died. I dint come to stop I just started slowing down and then the light turned green. A neighbor of mine said he was behind me and he said he saw flamed under the truck a good mile before it died out. How do you post pics? it keeps asking for a picture URL. I don't have my pictures online they are on my hard drive.

[rcrahn]

look in the the FAQ section....under postings

[Chevy 350 Fan]

Originally Posted by slikside

Future reference....for anyone....firefighters, correct me if I am wrong:

If you are faced with a smolder coming from under the hood, AND you lack the means to extinguish it, don't even open the hood. (Unless you KNOW/smell that it's electrical and not petroleum...to disconnect the battery) It's like a damper. You open it, and now you have maximum airflow to the fire. I might even suggest if you do have an extinguisher, keeping the hood closed and using it from underneath.

As for the OP's reaction, well... It's got to be an emotional experience to see your truck burning, throw in the youth factor, and I can see how it all happens. Not saying it's perfectly OK, just that I can understand how it went down the way it did. That said, the doughnuts and beer (with help from Dad, of course) would go along way to smoothing things over, I imagine.

yes in hind sight I probably shouldn't have opened the hood. But I closed it after I saw the fire and called 911. and BTW my dad is taking me over to the fire department to apologize today and thank them.

[sduckworth13]

Good job buddy. Oh yeah if there were flames under the hood its definitely getting the prybar and foam.

[R.L.]

Sorry for your loss, hope your insurance can make it right for you. Don't pay the hackers any mind, first responders are trained to act in a certain way from years of dealing with situations, sucks but property or things are just things and procedure is procedure. Make a better truck and move on the best you can. You were the only person here who was there, you handled the situation the best you could, sometimes you have to do what it takes to get your point across. Professionals are trained to deal with the public if they can't deal with negativity from time to time there probably not suited for the job.
Welcome to the forums.

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by Chevy 350 Fan

yes in hind sight I probably shouldn't have opened the hood. But I closed it after I saw the fire and called 911. and BTW my dad is taking me over to the fire department to apologize today and thank them.

Good for you! That is the right thing to do. Sorry for your loss and hopefully it is repairable. Good thing is no one was hurt!

Welcome to the forum from a former Channahon resident.

[Chevy 350 Fan]

This is my truck before the fire. I had gotten the hood to line up better since that picture was taken.

[Chevy 350 Fan]

idk why the hell it posted some pics 2x but yea

[Coley]

Well....results of a fire never look good, and this is no exception. It looks like you've got some work ahead of you on this but most of the truck is clearly still quite intact.
Has your insurance company given you any feedback on it yet?
Hopefully this works out for you.....looks like it is a fairly nice truck.
Coley

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by davepl

I was with you up to that point. So if you don't like me, you let my house or car burn a little longer? I seriously hope that was just angry internet fingers.

Any chance this truck had one of those clear fuel filters?

And that's reality. Talk crap to people and then be shocked when they don't move as fast as you'd like or do as nice of a job.

I'd probably have done the same thing concerning opening the hood and then closing it again.....by that point....lacking an extinguisher, it's about all he could have done.

As for emotions, it takes time to learn to stay calm in situations. Good thinking on going by the fire department. Now if you REALLY want to make a good impression, type up a letter thanking them and apologizing for the hasty words and sign it......also....I'd find the man I said those to and apologize personally to him. People don't do that anymore so when it happens, it really has impact.

One positive thing......people following this thread will be thinking about a fire extinguisher! I think one would go really well behind the driver's side in the cab corner there......like the jack goes into the other cab corner.

[geezer#99]

Ah!!
The old rubber fuel line type of fire!!
At least you got some truck left!
All I had was a tail gate left over!
I learned the rubber fuel line fire inferno 45 years ago. Made hard lines ever since.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Ah!!
The old rubber fuel line type of fire!!
At least you got some truck left!
All I had was a tail gate left over!
I learned the rubber fuel line fire inferno 45 years ago. Made hard lines ever since.

WRECKED CHEVY.....did you read that?

[mechanicalman]

You, the firefighter and Obama should sit down at the White House and have a beer.

I'm not going to continue the flogging, I think you have probably learned a lesson here, you don't seem real defensive so I think you are getting it.

Make an extensive attempt to find and repair the source of the fire first then get it running. Does you town have some kind of fire inspector? They are trained to find the source of the fires so they might help. After the donut run, of course.

Talk to the witness and get specifics as to what color was the smoke at first and where exactly he saw the flames. I'm thinking they may have started on the headers and spread to the engine compartment, with your forward momentum the smoke came out the rear. So in the future glance in those mirrors once in a while.

You may be onto something as brake fluid is combustible, I'm not sure at what temp but if the master cyl or prop valve was leaking it could get on the headers and get quite hot.

I expect if the booster got hot at all it's going to need replaced, assuming power brakes. The master cyl can leak fluid into the booster going un-noticed for quite a while until it spills over.
"Brake fluid is toxic and combustible[4] and can damage painted surfaces".[5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_fluid

[geezer#99]

You don't need a fire inspector mechanicalman!!
Easy to see the hose clamp and short piece of rubber hose still on the carb and the rest hanging off to the side. Plus the black under the choke. That's where the fire started and then spread back and down.

[rcrahn]

Look closely at the inside of the hood and the outside. Notice the distinct burn patterns? It seems to me the fire was most concentrated at the carburetor.

Great inputs on fire extinguishers.....Small Halon bottles are best for vehicles. And yes, Halon is expensive. Like around $125. I bought mine at a Goodguys show.

Now, if anyone is interested in a fire suppression system, check out Safecraft. My son has a Spec E30 track car (just had his 1st race at Thunderhill) that has a Safecraft system installed. An excellent system. We plumbed the discharge nozzles in the engine compartment and above his feet.

http://safecraft.com/products.php?ca...at=motorsports

[SCHRUMGMC]

Love the GMC's man, I hate to see the outcome of your truck. Hopefully you can repair all of the damage that has been done

[Hubscrub]

I'm not going to hate on the kid. I understand the passion and situation.I was a volunteer fireman saw many cars burn to the ground, but the one thing I was taught in fire school was TRY BEFORE YOU PRY! don't just beat it because you can try to open it first, save yourself work. I've had people be buttholes to me but I still didn't do a less of a job just because of that, that would be just wrong. I always carry a fire extinguisher in everything I own, and my house in the garage couple in the shop clearly marked. That would have been probably an easy to put out fire with the proper equipment when it started.

[imjeff]

Originally Posted by slikside

Future reference....for anyone....firefighters, correct me if I am wrong:

If you are faced with a smolder coming from under the hood, AND you lack the means to extinguish it, don't even open the hood. (Unless you KNOW/smell that it's electrical and not petroleum...to disconnect the battery) It's like a damper. You open it, and now you have maximum airflow to the fire. I might even suggest if you do have an extinguisher, keeping the hood closed and using it from underneath.

Incorrect. Look up at your engine bay from the bottom. Wide open, right? Except for where the fire usually is. Now imagine getting under there as flaming fuel is dripping on you, bumper impact absorbers, hood shocks and batteries are exploding. It's unpleasant to say the least. Firefighters dont sniff toxic gases to establish what is burning. Not opening the hood is exactly how to burn a truck to the ground, particularly on a gas fire, which I suspect this was. Just a matter of time before its in the cab.

Some info for the OP. Your 911 call doesn't go to the fire department across the street. It goes to a call center that may or may not be the dispatch agency for that FD. For example, cell calls may go to state patrol dispatch, then to the FD dispatch center. Then, after they collect the information from the hysterical caller and everyone else within a three block radius calling at the same time, they dispatch the appropriate resources based on the information gathered. The firefighters receive the dispatch, don their gear, start the rig, open the door, then respond (making sure they close the door so people don't steal their stuff). When they arrive on scene they establish whether additional resources are needed, report they are on scene, don their SCBAs and go to work locating, exposing and extinguishing the fire. I hope you can see why your dad arrived close to the same time. Now, after all that they get called names!?!

As for the source of your fire cause. You probably don't have a catalytic converter and it doesn't sound like you were under load so your exhaust temps were probably somewhat low. I would bet it was gasoline. Your truck wouldn't run above idle? Sounds like a fuel line came off. Transmission fluid is hard piped to the radiator low on the passenger side. Antifreeze wouldn't produce black smoke, not enough power steering or brake fluid the burn the distance you describe (no mention of brake failure) plus it probably wouldn't have altered how your truck ran before you noticed flames.

Be glad those guys were not on another call. You wouldn't be talking about a wiring harness, but a different truck. Bottom line? The firefighters didn't work on your truck or start your fire so cussing and threatening them shouldnt have been a thought. Put an extinguisher in your truck. It would have been out with the hood open when they arrived at YOUR fire.