We got lucky this week…

[JStelly]

I went to the storage facility yesterday to begin the prep work for an upcoming trip. When I walked into the unit there was a layer of soot covering everything! Upon investigation there was a major fire that engulfed 10-15 units at the end of the row our unit is in. The smoke traveled from these units (about 10 away from me) and left soot on everything! Today we begin the removal and cleaning of everything. It’s a mess. [emoji846]. The actual cause of the fire is under investigation.

The owners will clean the interior of the unit once I remove everything. I talked to my insurance company and the damage is less than my deductible so no claim. When I asked the owners why they didn’t call me they apologized and said they didn’t think we were affected. They will now be calling a lot more owners.

Word to the wise, if you have your trailer in offsite storage it’s good to check on it from time to time.

John

[cpaharley2008]

Wow,
I hope it is not too bad.....

[Shiny]

Ugghhh... that would be an unpleasant surprise but glad the force was with you. Hopefully it cleans up easily and you can put this behind you quickly.

[Donna D.]

Uck. The outside should be fairly easy to clean, but if the soot got inside, you may have a mess. Soot is greasy.


Best of luck!

[MyronL]

Incredible. Have to wonder how that fire got started. Because here we have had quire a few sub-zero nights on some nights have used my little electric space heater on the floor in the trailer but - that hasn't stopped me from being nervous about the thing shorting out - catching on fire. We rely on stuff but... you never know.

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by MyronL

Incredible. Have to wonder how that fire got started. Because here we have had quire a few sub-zero nights on some nights have used my little electric space heater on the floor in the trailer but - that hasn't stopped me from being nervous about the thing shorting out - catching on fire. We rely on stuff but... you never know.

I did tile work in the winter on Martha's Vineyard. Had to leave heaters on over night /weekends, for curing sometimes. I was very nervous doing it (Trophy Houses). Having tile around, I set the heater & all along the cord length to the outlet on top of tightly spaced tiles. Sometimes a long ways! Hoping to protect mostly the wood sub flooring.

[JStelly]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Uck. The outside should be fairly easy to clean, but if the soot got inside, you may have a mess. Soot is greasy.


Best of luck!

We found that out today. We brought the trailer home and began cleaning the interior. It all had a very fine almost imperceptible layer on everything. Once we clean the interior then on to the outside. Not what I was planning on doing on Super Bowl Sunday.

[JStelly]

Originally Posted by MyronL

Incredible. Have to wonder how that fire got started. Because here we have had quire a few sub-zero nights on some nights have used my little electric space heater on the floor in the trailer but - that hasn't stopped me from being nervous about the thing shorting out - catching on fire. We rely on stuff but... you never know.

We don’t know yet how the fire started. It may be a week or two for the investigators to complete their work. I know there are a lot of folks who do car repair/reno work, machine and welding work in their unit. Also lots of extension cords to battery maintainers that are now being disconnected. Lots of opportunities for something to go wrong. I learned today it started at 3:30 in the afternoon and no one was around at the time.

[sofmerc]

Originally Posted by JStelly

We found that out today. We brought the trailer home and began cleaning the interior. It all had a very fine almost imperceptible layer on everything. Once we clean the interior then on to the outside. Not what I was planning on doing on Super Bowl Sunday.

Oh man, that just sux.. You have the storage unit to shield your trailer from environmental effects.. At least you rig wasn't lost the the fire

[JStelly]

I went out this morning and the morning dew made a mess! So I spent the day washing the exterior while DW cleaned the interior. At least the weather cooperated.

Before and after photos.

[cpaharley2008]

Wow,
Is that normal for your area? Seems like washing becomes a daily chore.

[JStelly]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Wow,
Is that normal for your area? Seems like washing becomes a daily chore.

No. It’s actually perfect wx here now. 70 degrees, no wind and not a cloud in the sky. This was the soot that was on the trailer from the fire. We brought it home to clean. Next up is all the other “stuff” in the storage unit. It’s all covered with soot.

[WillyB]

Wow! I can only imagine what the inside of off the AC, MaxFan, etc look like.

Hopefully your interior is not compromised.

Good Luck!

PS: You wash job looks marvelous.

[Chamberman]

Hopefully your interior doesn't smell like the nasty smoke that passed through your storage unit. That smell can be difficult to get rid of.

[Chasing Trials]

Wow, I hope the inside cleans up as well.

[MrLynn]

These look like individual units. How did the smoke from one get into yours (and others)?

You might have a civil claim worth filing against the storage facility owner, depending on the terms of your rental contract.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

...You might have a civil claim worth filing against the storage facility owner, depending on the terms of your rental contract.

eh, most of the time, the only ones who 'win' are the lawyers.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

These look like individual units. How did the smoke from one get into yours (and others)?

The roof structure is supported by channel beams running side-to-side. If you look at the interior photo you'll see that the steel wall sheathing runs up the wall but stops at the underside of the beams leaving a 3 or 4" space between the top of the wall sheathing and the ceiling. Perfect to ensure cross contamination in the event of a fire.

Ron

[JStelly]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

The roof structure is supported by channel beams running side-to-side. If you look at the interior photo you'll see that the steel wall sheathing runs up the wall but stops at the underside of the beams leaving a 3 or 4" space between the top of the wall sheathing and the ceiling. Perfect to ensure cross contamination in the event of a fire.

Ron

Correct. The walls do not extend the the ceiling. I was just there this am and there is about a 6 inch gap at the top between the walls and ceiling. My unit is 13 units away from the fire. As you move farther away the soot diminishes. I saw a unit about 6 away from the fire and his boat was covered in soot and cinders. He said his boat is ok.

We leave the Maxxfan vent open along with all cabinet doors. A very light layer of soot permeated the inside of the trailer. [emoji3525] Hence we have to take everything out and wipe it all down, wash dishes and linens. It’s like bringing the trailer back to its original delivery condition. Luckily there is no smoke damage. So that’s one small thing in our favor.

[Ron in BC]

It's great that things are cleaning up nicely. It's probable that some units closer to the fire will have smoke damage harder to clean up than your unit.

Depends on the jurisdiction and bylaws etc. but here, an individual unit such as yours, would have been required to have fire stopping between the individual units. Leaving that gap at the top of the wall is a huge no-no.

If you're going to be returning to that unit I'd recommend that it be conditional on the air gap being sealed.

Ron