Mountaineer burnt to the ground by POP-TART

[judyuk]

About three weeks ago, a new Mountaineer RV burnt to the ground in our park. We have been living in the park about 150 feet from this rig but were traveling in our 5th wheel when the fire happened.
According to the park manager, the guy that owned the Mountaineer had put a pop-tart in the toaster. The tart apparently got jammed in the toaster and the guy thought his toaster wasn't working. Rather than unplug the toaster and/or get the pop tart out, he left and went into town for breakfast. While he was gone, the pop tart caught fire and within 10 minutes the entire rig was on fire. The Fire Marshall said the pop tart shot flames five feet in the air.....Yikes.
The intensity of the fire also destroyed a neighbor's 5th wheel....however, the park manager hasn't been able to locate the owner. They haven't been here in over a year and none of the phone numbers are any good. The rent is paid every month though.
I downloaded a few pictures on photobucket.
Hope this link works:
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u205/Judyuk_1/

Please let me know if this link doesn't work. The first five pics are of the fire.

Judy

[DONnANNIE]

Oh Oh! Did the Pop-Tarts have a warning label - "Caution - May cause fires" Sorry I couldn't resist.

Seriously, that is a shame that something so simple as a Pop-Tart would destroy two 5ers. Hope they had insurance.

[bsmeaton]

Thanks for the pics Judy - good to hear everything was unoccupied.

[Fire5er]

One would think that it would be commonsense to remove the pop tart or secure the toaster prior to leaving and going to town...but after 28 years in the fire service I found that commonsense isn't that common. Glad no one was injured.

[deepskyridge]

The building I work in almost burned down due to a stuck toaster with a pop tart in it.

http://www.geocities.com/fishbulb42/poptarts.htm

This is a well known risk. Don't leave a toaster unattended.

Gary

[bsmeaton]

Wow, great pics! I wouldn't have thought they could through out those kind of flames.

I carry those little fire starter sticks in the Monty. I think I'll switch to pop-tarts! I could use it as a back up food supply.

[judyuk]

Wow....that's unbelievable. Apparently pop tarts and toasters can be a lethal weapon....
Next thing you know, we'll have to take pop tart safety courses and carry a permit to buy them

[stiles watson]

Such a tragedy. Makes me shudder to think how easy things can go very wrong.

[rving2us]

The only "tart" in my life is Mary Elizabeth, Vavavoom!

[2 Sinks]

Wow...what an awful experience for the owner.Glad no one including animals were harmed.When we leave our Mountaineer with the Collies in it I unplug every added appliance we have,toaster oven/blow dryers/computer charger and even turn the hot water heater off.After seeing the remains of that 5er I think I may start turning the main off in the panel in cooler weather conditions.

Philip
07 Mountaineer 336RLT

[HamRad]

We do not unplug all our appliances when we leave the rig. We don't do that in our stick house either. We routinely turn off the HWH anyway just to save energy.

It should be noted that the reason the rig burned was due to operator error. It was not the fault of the innocent pop tart (which gave up its life). The fault clearly lies with the operator of the toaster. Who in their right mind would leave a pop tart inside a toaster and leave for breakfast? Especially one where it was apparently obvious that the toaster was not operating properly!

Like others have indicated I'm just happy no one was injured and no animals were lost. Terrible loss for the rig owners but otherwise could have been much worse.

HamRad

[blamb]

I came across this article tonight and it made me think of this thread. I had to post it here. Although it is sad that montys AND houses have been lost due particularly to pop tarts, apparently, this article was written with humor. http://www.davebarry.com/natterings_files/poptarts.htm

[Exnavydiver]

I think Dave Barry is spot on with his conclusions...Dave(not Barry)