Fire safety when cooking in a camper.

[McGirr]

Following on from a thread about fire extinguishers and in relation to camper trailers, most campers have kitchens attached to tailgates with the cooktop, is it safer to have a portable stove on a stable table away from the camper for cooking.

Would this reduce the risk of flames hitting the camper if the unlikely thing happened and a fire starts when cooking. I know some campers have kitchens that extend out away from the camper itself but some have an awning very close to the tailgate kitchen and it would not take long for a fire to take hold.

Hopefully this would never happen but food for thought and interesting to hear from members who are or were involved in the fire industry.

How quick could you get an extinguisher to the fire and where would you store the extinguisher to make it easy to get to.

Mark

[maverick01]

This is something that we have always taken into consideration. Hence why we minimise the amount we cook using the stove top. We find it easier to use an open fire.

Our lifestyle camper came out of the factory with the extinguisher mounted wright beside the kitchen which is mounted on the tailgate.

[McAbouts]

We don't cook in the kitchen anymore and haven't for a long time. Use a portable cooker on a wire stand. If it's raining we cook in the awning doorway. Felt kitchen smells we're getting into camper initially but enjoy this style of cooking now if we don't use a campfire.

Our extinguisher is right beside the kitchen which is on our tailgate as well, but I also have a fire blanket attached to a pole on the awning or nearby if the awnings not up.

Cheers
Louise

[Familytime]

My advise would be to stand at your kitchen, turn and take two to three steps and mount it as close to practice to where you end up with no obstruction between your mounting point and your kitchen.
The reason for this and not having it mounted right at the kitchen is this,
If a fire were to start,you would need to be standing right at the stove to take action, then you will need to make sure you can access the extinguisher.
If a fire were to start at the stove it may result in blocking you from reaching the extinguisher.
Basically never put your risk area between you and your last line of defence.
Hope this helped in making a decision as to mount your extinguisher

[Azz]

I always have thought that cookers were to close to canvas in most campers.

Have you ever tried to light up a piece of poly cotton canvas? It is not something that just bursts into flame.
Not saying it won't burn, but it takes a fair bit to get it alight. I see some campers with clear pvc panels above and behind the kitchen, this does not excite me at all.
The clear burns pretty easily.

The thread that most manufacturers use is also effected by heat.

I think the main problem is the cooking smells getting through your canvas.
Its common sense to have a fire extinguisher and blanket in a quick and easy to grab location regardless.

[maverick01]

I should have also mentioned that there is a extinguisher mounted in the rear of the patrol which is always parked within a few metres from the trailer.

[austastar]

Hi,
  We cook all aromatic stuff like bacon, onions, fish, garlic etc outside.
 
Any thing in hot oil goes outside, for smell and fire safety.
 
After two potentially serious incidents, both our family home and a neighbour's house, and both involving teenagers home alone and cooking chips, fire is always a consideration.


cheers

[lino6]

Years ago my 3rd oldest brother and family had a CT. My niece had been in cooking some toast and when she come out told her dad she thought she could smell gas in the camper. He went in to have a look and just as he got inside the leaking gas must have got to the pilot light on the gas fridge and the camper effectively blew up. It was never really discovered where the gas was leaking. He got some burns on his head and some bad ones on his legs but other than that he was ok, but the CT burned to the ground. That was the last CT they owned because my sister in law and niece didn't really like seeing my brother getting blown up.

Because of this SWMBO and I were a bit reluctant to buy a camper with a kitchen, but have since fitted the Drifta kitchen on our CT. We don't often enclose all of the awning with all of the walls to allow a bit of air flow, plus I doubt we'll ever have a 3 way fridge like my brother! I think, as with everything in life, if you are doing the right thing and being sensible and looking after your gear, cooking inside the CT is fine as long as the equipment you are using is appropriate. 

[belial]

When I was younger, my family had a Jayco Swan. I couldn't tell you how many times we (well Mum ) cooked on the gas stove inside on our various trips, but it would be in the hundreds.

We had a dry chemical BE fire extinguisher mounted to the cupboard below the seat near the door, it was 2 steps from the stove, always clear once setup and if worse came to worse, you'd be headed for the door in any case. These days they've moved on to a pop-top for doing the grey nomad thing, but still have an extinguisher and fire blanket within 1-2 steps of the cook top.

So long as you have sufficient ventilation, in the swan we'd always have at least the window behind the stove open to carry away a significant portion of the fumes and prevent heat building up on the canvas above the stove, though often in concert with the door open to provide a cross breeze.

I don't think I'd choose to cook with the tent section closed entirely on a camper, but given ventilation and being prepared with an appropriate extinguisher and blanket within a couple of steps I wouldn't expect it to be any less *safe* than using a standalone stove.
 

[MattNQ]

I always hang up a fire blanket within easy reach of the stove -  cheap insurance I reckon.

I figure even if the fire blanket doesn't fully smother the flames, it will give a few extra seconds to grab the extinguisher from the vehicle or some water

[Beachman]

I’m not asking this question to trivialise this subject, but asking because I don’t know.

Is Canvas a material that goes up in flames quickly or is a difficult to light slow burning material?

[jimc1]

This was a major safety concern for me and this is how I have addressed it.
 
You can have different fire scenarios...when cooking in camper, when camper is setup and when towing. Your car will be at risk when towing or in normal drive mode...or someone else finds
 
so...
 
In camper kitchen I have fire blanket within reach of stove for cooking fire and ABE 1kg ABE fire extinguisher 1 step away..both very instantly accessable to the cook.
 
At front of camper I have a 2.5kg ABE fire extinguisher that could be used if car or camper fire occurs.
 
In car I have a large adult size fire blanket and another 2.5kg ABE fire extinguisher.
 
I work with worst case scenario in my mind..of family travelling alone in remote parts of the country and being 100% self reliant. Probably overkill for most poeple.

[muzza01]

We have a fire blanket that hangs on the handle that pulls out the kitchen. Heftier extinguisher is always out and within 1 meter of the kitchen. The gas bottle is on only for cooking and is immediately turned off after cooking has finished.

[Azz]

I’m not asking this question to trivialise this subject, but asking because I don’t know.

Is Canvas a material that goes up in flames quickly or is a difficult to light slow burning material?

I use a hot knife to cut various materials on a daily basis. Ploy cotton (which you can't cut with a hot knife) takes a a lot of heat before it catches alight. It also is slow burning.

FR canvas will self extinguish, but if you keep a content flame or heat source to it, will burn until it is removed.

[Nay-DMAX]

Years ago my 3rd oldest brother and family had a CT. My niece had been in cooking some toast and when she come out told her dad she thought she could smell gas in the camper. He went in to have a look and just as he got inside the leaking gas must have got to the pilot light on the gas fridge and the camper effectively blew up. It was never really discovered where the gas was leaking. He got some burns on his head and some bad ones on his legs but other than that he was ok, but the CT burned to the ground. That was the last CT they owned because my sister in law and niece didn't really like seeing my brother getting blown up.

Because of this SWMBO and I were a bit reluctant to buy a camper with a kitchen, but have since fitted the Drifta kitchen on our CT. We don't often enclose all of the awning with all of the walls to allow a bit of air flow, plus I doubt we'll ever have a 3 way fridge like my brother! I think, as with everything in life, if you are doing the right thing and being sensible and looking after your gear, cooking inside the CT is fine as long as the equipment you are using is appropriate.

I’m not asking this question to trivialise this subject, but asking because I don’t know.

Is Canvas a material that goes up in flames quickly or is a difficult to light slow burning material?

In relation to the above post I think from memory once the gas ignited it was like 20 seconds from being a camper to being a pile of mess on the ground.  Obviously all circumstances are different so not sure on others experience.

[Azz]

Foam burns like there is no tomorrow. Once something that burns like hell lights up, the rest is history in a matter of minutes.

[Black Diamond]

We have only ever cooked in our kitchen once or twice and that's because we couldn't have a fire. We only really use it to wash up or boil water. Obviously as others have said a fire blanket and good extinguisher will go a long way. A gas fuse I reckon is a must and proper maintenance on all fittings, hoses and jets. A good sized splashback is good and the window is always down when using it as below   BD

[meimarocu]

Hi Mark,

We try not to cook in the kitchen on our Trackabout.
We use a small 30 sec alloy table just out side of the awning.
It keeps the gas bottle and stove away from canvas for smells and safety.

Cheers   Ian.

[GGV8Cruza]

We cook in our kitchen all the time as well as over the open fire, the smell is never a worry and the canvas looks almost as new as the day we got it except for the dirt and dust. We place the fire blanket up on the tent pole on the corner of the annex if needed in a hurry, theres a fire extinguisher in the front box and the Patrol. After camping in the high country winters the camper will not smell like a kitchen, it has the essence of the campfire, nothing better 

GG