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We drove from El Paso to Phoenix yesterday to spend Thanksgiving weekend with my family. We pulled into my brother's driveway about a quarter to four, after an uneventful and trouble-free drive.

One hour later, this is what we were looking at:


For those of you with sharp eyes, yes that is one of those little portable gun safes sitting on the passenger seat in the second pic... it rode through the heat without warping, and the little Ruger Security Six snubby inside it came through completely unscathed.

The fire started in the engine just a few minutes after we'd gone inside. It burned for almost 20 minutes before the fire department was able to arrive. Everything from the dashboard forward is completely munched - everything meltable/flammable in the engine compartment is gone. The inside of the cab was black from the smoke and heat, and it shattered the windshield.

The good news is, there was no injury to anyone, and no damage to any other vehicle or structure nearby. One of my brother's trees did suffer some heat/smoke damage, but it was less than 15 feet from the fire.

And everything in the camper came through unscathed. A number of items in the cab survived, although their cases/containers suffered serious smoke damage. My Yaesu VX-8R lost the antenna and power cables, but it still turns on. Won't know how damaged the circuitry is until I can hook it back up. My husband's laptop is warped but still functions, although it will need a new powercable.

The insurance claim has been initialized, and I thank God I kept full coverage on the little truck. My Dad has offered me the use of his extra vehicle until the insurance is finalized & I can replace the truck. And we'll be bumming a ride home (our son offered to come pick us up) so that's taken care of as well.

God's hand of protection was surely on us yesterday; if this had happened while on the road it could have been much worse.

But I'm going to miss my Li'l Red truck. She was a good 'un.

I guess it's a moot question, but what was the cause?

Thank God was watching out for you! So glad that you were at journey's end when Little Red's life ended.

My word! Praise the Lord that you didn't arrive one hour later! I'm glad all is well quidni.

Oldgringo wrote:I guess it's a moot question, but what was the cause?

Don't know at this point what happened.

The firemen said possibly a worn seal or hose somewhere that sprayed a bit of gas or oil onto the hot engine. I'm not enough of a mechanic to say otherwise, but I'd had the vehicle serviced & the oil changed just 2k miles ago, & the mechanic hadn't notified me of any worn/cracked tubing or hoses. (They're pretty good about that - yeah it's good business for them, but good safety for me as well.) The drive was completely uneventful, with no mechanical/electrical glitches, no funny smells, nada. She wasn't even running warmer than usual.

Unless the insurance inspector finds something definitive, we may never know just what happened.

All I can say for sure is I know the Who that kept it from happening until we were safely stopped and out of the vehicle!

"Praise the Lord, all ye nations, praise Him, all ye people! for His merciful kindness is great towards us, and the truth of the Lord endureth forever! Praise ye the Lord!" - Psalm 117

Having seen a few car fires up close, I am surprised you have as much left as you do. Even 10 minutes is a long time -- unless you get right on the fire in the first few minutes while it is small with a fire extinguisher, a car fire pretty much totals a car.

Sorry you had to go through that, but glad you are alright, were able to save some things, and had it insured.

Wow!

Glad everyone was OK. That could have been horrendous.