I Always thought a blazing exploding rig might be the way I'd go.... But I live to see another day! I was extremely impressed that everyone we were with had at least one extinguisher in their rig, and how calmly and quickly the situation was taken care of. Here's how it went down,rawlin and I were riding in his buggy. we heard a loud bang I looked back to notice his tcase flange missing and his driveline gone. As we came to a stop I noticed gas leaking. Apparently the drive line had hit one of the gas lines. I hastily jumped out to inspect. Rawlin asked if the leak could be stopped, at that same moment, the rig took flame. Rawlin jumped out and tried for his fire extinguisher. Mean while not knowing what else to do I tried to throw dirt on the flame. Rawlin having troubles with retrieving the extinguisher called for help I tried my best to get the extinguisher out of its horribly designed bag that had several confusing velcro straps holding it in place(this might be something to be addressed by 4wheel parts?) Had I been able to get it out I strongly believe at this point I could have gotten the fire out with out any major damage to the buggy. after what felt like an eternity fighting the bag I was forced to give up due to the flames getting hotter. We stepped back and watched the fuel tank explode. Our friends on motocross bikes were the first on the scene I told them where the extinguishers in my 4runner were and off they raced, I ran to a near by camp to attempt to steal extinguishers out of their trailer. By this time the ground was becoming in danger of the spreading fire. I had no luck getting into the trailer. by the time I got back jason and kc were on the scene with fire extinguishers, jason was able to pretty well get the entire ground under control, after doing so he moved to control the buggy. by this time there was about 20 people pulling up fully loaded with fire extinguishers, and water. All and all, the buggy is salvageable, and all the mountain yoats will be working hard to get it back running(if anyone would like to help out please pm me) I've made a list of a few obvious things that should be addressed but usually go over looked by almost everyone:
*Fuel lines. Where are yours? We looked at 3 other rigs out there that had lines right in the path of broken drivelines.
*Fire extinguishers. Do you have one? One is not enough. Especially if its in an area that's on fire.
*Can you get to your extinguishers? Even if your rig is upside down or on its side?
*What can your extinguisher do? Sure it might get a small fire out but how bout a spreading ground fire? Rigs are spendy but forests are way more and much harder to replace.
*Carry a knife. They are just good to have. What if rawlin was knocked out for what ever reason and I had to cut his seat belts? Also good for cutting window nets. If I had a good knife I could have cut the straps holding the extinguisher and possibly saved the rig. Also gloves are not a bad idea either.
*How's your fire extinguisher attached? It should be strong yet simple so that ANYONE can see it and get it out with out knowing your rig.
I stongly think the situation was handled well, no one was hurt, the buggy will be fixxed and we didn't manage to burn down little moab. I think we were as prepared as anyone, but I can guarantee we will be taking extra precautions next time we are out on the trail and we will learn from this to be even more prepared A car fire can happen to anyone. How would you handle it?
my 8lb bottle was enough to mostly contain 4-5 bushes and some small grass ablaze.. I was shocked at how fast it was gone.
