Our 2024 E19 trailer severely damaged in storage facility fire Help!

[sackettd]

Hopefully this hasn't happened to anyone else, but if you have ever had fire/heat damage to your trailer, we would appreciate some advice on how to assess the damage and deal with the insurance companies.

We got a call last night from the storage facility. Apparently a trailer next to us caught fire and burned, the trailer on the other side of us also burned, and our 2024 Escape 19 was the marshmallow center of this trailer S'More! We live 500 miles away in Montana from the Port Orchard Washington storage facility and have received the 2 photos I've attached. Look at that Air Stream next to us. Yikes! Totally melted. Damage to the back of our trailer looks pretty bad, so we will be unexpectedly making that drive Saturday and be on site Monday. It might not be a total loss like the trailers on either side of us, but than again, I did a little research and if the fiberglass and underlying structure is damaged, I don't see how that could be repaired to new spec.

I hope nobody else has had this happen, but any experiences, advice would be much appreciated!

 

[Jim Bennett]

Firstly, notify your insurance. They will minimally determine the extent of the damage that whoever is responsible for the fire will have to cover. Make certain every bit of damage is determined. If by chance there is structural damage, though it doesn't seem to be too bad in those photos, this will definitely have to be repaired.

All the best in dealing with this.

 

[CE Vogel]

Wow, that is a terrible message to get from your storage facility. I'm with Jim, contact your insurance company first, send the photos. Judging from the photos, it doesn't appear your trailer suffered significant structural damage, if any. Fiberglass can take some pretty high temperatures. But I wouldn't ever trust that spare tire again.
Fortunately Port Orchard isn't too far from Chilliwack, so it may be possible to tow it to Escape and have them perform an evaluation and repairs.

 

[sackettd]

That's a good idea. I called ETI this morning and they were understanding and offered help. Towing to Chilliwack could be a good move to get it repaired properly.

 

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

I think you find on that most insurance companies will consider it a total loss. I seen some written total loss even with minor damage. Hopefully you had picked a policy that offers full replacement cost. If it got hot enough to melt the taillights it might have got hot enough melt the backing on vinyl liner. Sorry, this happened to you, but at least you were not in it.

 

[occer]

If the insurance company says it can be fixed. Get a second option and get it from someone who has done fire damage repairs. ETI may not have any experience in that department.
Hopefully the damage is minimun.

 

[GinoandLinda]

If the insurance company says it can be fixed. Get a second option and get it from someone who has done fire damage repairs. ETI may not have any experience in that department.
Hopefully the damage is minimun.

Agree with that. Like others have said, there could be wiring damage or vinyl interior wall damage. I would also think the seals on the rear window have been compromised. Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[HABBERDABBER]

I don't know if it's melted belly band cover plastic or a crack at the rear, to the left of your spare tire. Hard to say, 500 or 2,000 miles away.
Sorry, and sad to see this happen to you. It's why we have insurance. Your rig looks damaged, but repairable. That's me, speculating from 2,000 light years away.

Best wishes,

 

[Ron in BC]

Judging from the photos, it doesn't appear your trailer suffered significant structural damage, if any. Fiberglass can take some pretty high temperatures.

I agree. I've poured molten lead into a fiberglass space (boat keel) without any problems and there was no visible discoloration on the exterior. I would be surprised if there's any evidence of any problem in the interior.

I can't see in your photos if there's any blistering in the gelcoat. If not, the damage is just cosmetic and any yellowing is easily dealt with. Even minor blistering isn't a very big problem.

Good luck and I hope that you can breath a sigh of relief when you look inside.

Ron

 

[Thane]

I suggest you contact your insurance company and have them assess the damages and I suggest you ensure they get an assessment from an experienced fiberglass evaluator. I bet there are experienced people at the local marina that can help.
If you google “how to evaluate heat damaged fiberglass” you’ll find some good tips on how to evaluate heat damaged fiberglass.

 

[Escape Trailer]

We'd like to reiterate our verbal assurance that the ETI Team are here to help you in any way we can @sackettd . Our sincere sympathies go out to you, to your neighbours and to the management at the storage facility. It's an upsetting situation all-round.

 

[iamunique127]

Look at that Air Stream next to us. Yikes! Totally melted.

No kidding. It literally disintegrated.

Best of luck getting this sorted out. It sounds like you have some good support from Escape.

 

[sackettd]

Hopefully this hasn't happened to anyone else, but if you have ever had fire/heat damage to your trailer, we would appreciate some advice on how to assess the damage and deal with the insurance companies.

We got a call last night from the storage facility. Apparently a trailer next to us caught fire and burned, the trailer on the other side of us also burned, and our 2024 Escape 19 was the marshmallow center of this trailer S'More! We live 500 miles away in Montana from the Port Orchard Washington storage facility and have received the 2 photos I've attached. Look at that Air Stream next to us. Yikes! Totally melted. Damage to the back of our trailer looks pretty bad, so we will be unexpectedly making that drive Saturday and be on site Monday. It might not be a total loss like the trailers on either side of us, but than again, I did a little research and if the fiberglass and underlying structure is damaged, I don't see how that could be repaired to new spec.

I hope nobody else has had this happen, but any experiences, advice would be much appreciated!

Update: We drove the 500 miles to get to our singed Escape 19 on Sunday. Wow, four big trailers just behind us totalled, including a melted Airstream. Luckily we weren't in that direct line of fire, and there were no trailers next to us. But, we were about 15 feet from one of the burned-out units and got some heat damage to the back of our trailer. We are just starting the estimate and insurance company stuff, but it appears we have heat damage to the fiberglass at the back of our E19, but no blistering, so likely a costly (for insurance) gelcoat repair. The back and emergency windows and frames will need to be replaced. Two left side tires replaced. Likely the Air conditioner (showing signs of melting plastic) and the back solar panel replaced. There's a big job inside: some melted spots in the inside foam layer, so most if not all of the foam layer around the bed will need replacing. That means the cabinets and bed framing will need to be temporarily removed to do that repair. Definitely major damage, but as we had no evidence of actual flames hitting the trailer from the outside and no fire inside, it will likely be repaired.

 

[GinoandLinda]

Any speculation on how it started? Hope everything gets resolved to your satisfaction.

 

[CE Vogel]

From your description, it seems your trailer is repairable, assuming the insurance company doesn't declare a total loss. Escape has all the necessary parts and craftsman to make the repairs, so your trailer should be good as new afterward.
I'm sorry you experienced this.

 

[sackettd]

Any speculation on how it started? Hope everything gets resolved to your satisfaction.

A dehumidifier running in a trailer behind us caught fire and started the conflagration.

 

[Selkirk]

Ouch! That Airstream looks to be fairly new as well.

I can understand why the facility where my E19 is stored requires proof of insurance before they will rent out a stall.

It will be interesting to learn if your insurance provider will declare it total loss or not. I could see how the repairability of molded FG trailers relative to other RV types might be overlooked by the claims adjuster. If so, it might be a good candidate for someone to acquire at a salvage auction and restore.

Regardless, I hope the claim process goes smoothly......

 

[GinoandLinda]

A dehumidifier running in a trailer behind us caught fire and started the conflagration.

Something worth noting for folks who leave things running in their trailers... including the exhaust fan in our composting toilet. I have had the switch for it sitting on my work bench for several months. Think I will install it this weekend.

 

[Ron in BC]

Definitely very repairable. But its sometimes surprised me in the past how willing insurance companies are to write things off.

I've always been leery of leaving things like electric heaters, with fans, running for prolonged periods of time unattended. For years I used light bulbs in 4" diameter vertical ducts to provide a small amount of heat and move a bit of air. Now I use reptile heaters instead of light bulbs. I am surprised that a dehumidifier caused the fire.

Ron

 

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

It's probably repairable. My guess it they will right it as a total loss. they make enough on RV insurance that they rather just write them off then taking a chance of doing a repair and things keep popping up after the repair. they probably pay you (hopefully you have replacement cost) .Then they send it to action. don't forget to claim any smoke damage to inside and contents you never get that smoke smell out of stuff. good luck