Van Mounted Machine Fried

[Hotwaterwizard]

Heard about a guy that was cleaning a hood at a resturaunt, his van caught fire and fried his van and his machine and part of the resturaunt roof.

The bad part is he didn't have insurance or a fire extignature on hand to put out the fire. He had chemicals brooms and brushes stored behind the machine and ran the machine with those items behind the machine. There was Grease on the floor from the last job.

The lessons to learn here are:

1) Do not run a machine in a van with chemicals or extra fuel near the machine. Remove all flamables from the van.

2) Keep a clean area all the way around your machine. And clean up any messes from the last job.

3) Never fill it up when the engine is hot enough to ignite the fumes of the gas or diesel fuel.

4) Never store flamables in the van when the machine is running. Open all of the doors for proper ventalation.

5) Always carry a fire extignature that will put out grease fires.

6) Carry insurance against your rig and the contents of your van and liability coverage.

7) Don't park near the building.

8) If you spill fuel on the van floor board make sure it is cleaned up and no fumes are present before starting your machine.

9) Keep all plastic away from the exaust.

10) Don't leave a running machine unattended.

 

[MR ALAN]

Sounds like operator error!

 

[Michael Cappa]

Operator error. Sad to say this but I am not upset at all that this happened to him. He is just another headache for us legit guys with licenses and insurance. Anyone that ever has a problem and doesn't have insurance, I say good, now get out of my way. I know it is wrong for me to say this but I hate the ones out there charging half of what I do and have no licenses and no insurance.
sorry if anyone gets mad at these comments.

 

[PWwife]

Yes, It sounds like operator error. Yes, this guy made a mistake about how he took care of his equipment and insurance. I am sure he has suffered some pretty big consequences, and hopefully has learned from his mistakes and moves ahead.

 

[Mike Hughes]

Just because the guy had no insurance on his equipment does not mean he doesnt carry proper liability ins and/or is a legit operator. Just sounds like a big mistake on his part..........

 

[Grant]

If your business is your livelyhood, you had better be sure it is protected. If its just a hobby...well who cares?

 

[333-tint.com]

Right, Mike. That's a balanced viewpoint.

 

[Russ Spence]

any pressure washer wheather cold or hot is a major investment and should be protected and maintained and taken care of .the sad thing is that things happen and we make mistakes ,our best investment in life is our ability to insure our livelihood against such disasters .....learn or be taught

 

[JohnB]

We used a van for a little while , but no matter what we did we could still smell the gas and desl. fumes .. So now the van is strictly for fire equipment work and the machine is back on the trailer.. Plus all 3 of our vehicles have a 10lb abc fire extinguisher on each of them .. i even have a couple of K - Class units that I keep on hand on the cleaning trailer..

 

[BUNN]

Heard about a guy that was cleaning a hood at a resturaunt, his van caught fire and fried his van and his machine and part of the resturaunt roof.

The bad part is he didn't have insurance or a fire extignature on hand to put out the fire. He had chemicals brooms and brushes stored behind the machine and ran the machine with those items behind the machine. There was Grease on the floor from the last job.

The lessons to learn here are:

1) Do not run a machine in a van with chemicals or extra fuel near the machine. Remove all flamables from the van.

2) Keep a clean area all the way around your machine. And clean up any messes from the last job.

3) Never fill it up when the engine is hot enough to ignite the fumes of the gas or diesel fuel.

4) Never store flamables in the van when the machine is running. Open all of the doors for proper ventalation.

5) Always carry a fire extignature that will put out grease fires.

6) Carry insurance against your rig and the contents of your van and liability coverage.

7) Don't park near the building.

8) If you spill fuel on the van floor board make sure it is cleaned up and no fumes are present before starting your machine.

9) Keep all plastic away from the exaust.

10) Don't leave a running machine unattended.

Did this fire happen in Ft. Wayne, IN?

 

[podius]

Did this fire happen in Ft. Wayne, IN?

I think it was more in the Kokomo area...you wouldn't know a guy that works around there would you?

 

[BUNN]

I think it was more in the Kokomo area...you wouldn't know a guy that works around there would you?

Kokomo? Never heard of it...

 

[Ron Musgraves]

I would say they would blame everyone.

 

[Biodude]

Just because the guy had no insurance on his equipment does not mean he doesnt carry proper liability ins and/or is a legit operator. Just sounds like a big mistake on his part..........

If he didn't have insurance to protect his own assets, why would you think he would spend the money to protect someone elses? I thing the answer is obvious...

 

[SUPERIORLLC]

Well what about a little electric? I have seen them on ebay for like 4-600. I mean not the cheapo I mean a EZ4040 or general, brass head pump with a little generator a little heavy, but has a handle and can be used indoors, i think they are like 2500-3500 psi 3-4gpm. If you're too cheap to have insurance an entire hood cleaning set up with foaming pump would be way less than any big ol' washer. I know the other hood guys use these foam and sometimes just hot water. You don't have to worry about that catchin' fire, wasting gas and it is good for blastin' out a clogged drain too! UH oops Im giving you guys too many ideas LOL!

 

[Ron Musgraves]

Well what about a little electric? I have seen them on ebay for like 4-600. I mean not the cheapo I mean a EZ4040 or general, brass head pump with a little generator a little heavy, but has a handle and can be used indoors, i think they are like 2500-3500 psi 3-4gpm. If you're too cheap to have insurance an entire hood cleaning set up with foaming pump would be way less than any big ol' washer. I know the other hood guys use these foam and sometimes just hot water. You don't have to worry about that catchin' fire, wasting gas and it is good for blastin' out a clogged drain too! UH oops Im giving you guys too many ideas LOL!

I was born in blue island, love to catch up with you. i'll be in the chicago area late next week.

 

[Thomas C]

Heard about a guy that was cleaning a hood at a resturaunt, his van caught fire and fried his van and his machine and part of the resturaunt roof.

The bad part is he didn't have insurance or a fire extignature on hand to put out the fire. He had chemicals brooms and brushes stored behind the machine and ran the machine with those items behind the machine. There was Grease on the floor from the last job.

The lessons to learn here are:

1) Do not run a machine in a van with chemicals or extra fuel near the machine. Remove all flamables from the van.

2) Keep a clean area all the way around your machine. And clean up any messes from the last job.

3) Never fill it up when the engine is hot enough to ignite the fumes of the gas or diesel fuel.

4) Never store flamables in the van when the machine is running. Open all of the doors for proper ventalation.

5) Always carry a fire extignature that will put out grease fires.

6) Carry insurance against your rig and the contents of your van and liability coverage.

7) Don't park near the building.

8) If you spill fuel on the van floor board make sure it is cleaned up and no fumes are present before starting your machine.

9) Keep all plastic away from the exaust.

10) Don't leave a running machine unattended.

Thanks for posting this. I have fire extinguishers in my truck. I would add that first thing in the morning I am checking the inspection dates on them.
I take good advice/knowledge where I can get it.
A while back I posted a thread "Do you OSHA?"....It went over like a dead horse.
My background in industrial trades has taught me a lot about safety and how to put it to use.
I have so much OSHA training it's not even funny. I have current 10 and 30 hr. training certifications and have a stack of expired ones from years in the trades.
Some sites I go to have 5 days site specific training before you even have a chance to enter the facility, that is in addition to the OSHA training.
Why has someone not made a simple video presentation of safety to be available to folks new to pressure washing. Available to the forum members.
Many times I have been in training programs and the old timer next to me says...Hhhmmmp..I never would have thought of that,would nod his head to himself and write down or mentally imprint the knowledge to his brain.
This takes out room for error all the way accross the board. Makes the person next to you safer to work with. Presuming everyone has common sense is not acceptable, the first post in this thread supports that statement.
Next topic I would mention getting the same exposure here is First Aid training... The life you save might be your own...
Just my 2 cents....
My answer to the poll I chose operator error. I would also add lack of training in good work practices in his business.