Is this true?

Jim said:
I've just had this email from someone called Mellissa, I won't share her email address. Not sure whether to believe it or not. Have you heard anything?

Hi there! I have a very important message to share with Motorhomers, I hope you can pass this on. This morning, just before 8am in Puerto de Mazarron, in a popular overnight parking spot (behind Lidl), I awoke to an explosion. I was shocked to see on the road just next to me, a motorhome in flames. Even more disturbing is how it happened. A mattress had been placed underneath and set alight. The woman was lucky to escape, but her husband died in the explosion. I would just like to highlight to people that just because a parking spot might be posted on a website and frequented by many other motorhomes, does not necessarily mean it’s safe. Just around the corner from this spot is an extremely rough neighbourhood, and the town itself does not have the safest vibe about it. I’m sickened by this deliberate attack on an innocent Finnish couple and just want to warn others to stay vigilant and safe, and make sure to have fire extinguishers. Regards, Melissa
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Sad indictment of the attitude towards people who just want a quiet lifestyle......Also I would like to warn people of stories (Chinese whispers ?)...M/Homers wild camping in North Cornwall having their windscreens and side windows shot at at nightime by Drive-by-yobs with high powers airguns taking potshots ...I have heard it from a few people i have met, but not yet met anybody having been shot at...response from the (overworked) police...'did you get a number' ?

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PeteH said:
Some one in an earlier post suggested the Heater might have been fitted under the bed. Knowing the propensity that some have for loading stuff adjacent to Heaters. The seat of the fire may yet be explained.?

I used to have the job of examining Heating Systems in Schools, Care homes etc; for Dorset Council. It was a regular occurrence to find Potentially Flammable clothing, bedding and the like stored alongside Heating Boilers. I lost count of the Number of times I made "recommendation for removal" comment on the examination forms, and went back the following year to find nothing had changed!. Hospitals where even worse, the boiler room(s) being regular dumping grounds for unwanted equipment!. Hospitals and Military Establishments, being "government", are (or where 20 years ago) exempt of many if not all H&S regulations, they are or can be regarded only as "advisory".
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I thought Crown Exemption ceased to exist years ago?
 
Google translation - surprised how good it is.
The alleged perpetrator of the murder of a Finn was arrested by burning his caravan in Puerto de Mazarrón

12/30/2019
The events occurred on December 20, when a citizen alerted 1-1-2 of the fire of a caravan, which was parked on an esplanade in Puerto de Mazarrón

The Civil Guard of the Region of Murcia has developed the MAZFIN operation, an investigation aimed at clarifying the death of a Finnish citizen by the fire of his caravan, when he was stationed in an esplanade of the Mazarrón town of Puerto de Mazarrón, which was has resulted in the arrest of a person as the alleged perpetrator of the crime of homicide.

The events occurred on December 20, when a citizen alerted 1-1-2 of the fire of a caravan, which was parked on an esplanade in Puerto de Mazarrón.

This witness observed the departure of a woman from the rear of the vehicle and how, afterwards, an explosion caused the caravan to ignite in its entirety preventing the departure of her other occupant and husband of the woman, who died trapped inside .

The investigations carried out by the investigators allowed us to find out that, apparently, the fire had started on a mattress under the caravan itself, although the surviving woman did not know how she had got there and how she had set herself on fire.

After carrying out the corresponding technical-ocular inspection on the scene of the incident, agents specialized in Judicial Police determined that the origin of the fire had been intentional.

The research activity carried out in situ allowed, among others, to recover abandoned shoes next to a second mattress, of similar dimensions to which, supposedly, was used to set the caravan on fire, as well as outline the profile of a suspect who had been seen
dragging one of these mattresses.

After an intense investigative work, the Civil Guard focused the investigations on a well-known criminal of the locality, which later could be related to other violent events that occurred in nearby dates, one of them from fire damage in another vehicle.

After obtaining the necessary evidence, the Benemérita has located and detained the suspect. This is a 32-year-old male of Spanish nationality and neighbor of Mazarrón, who is credited with the alleged authorship of the crime of homicide of the Finnish citizen killed in the fire of his caravan, attempted homicide of his wife and of damage by fire.

Once made available to the Court of Instruction number 4 of Totana (Murcia), the arrested person has been placed in pretrial detention.
 
vin0114 said:
I thought Crown Exemption ceased to exist years ago?
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It could be now.? It was however still the case (and yes I was surprised when I was told!) up until I retired in August 1997. Of course, IF the "Crown" is in breach, the fact that (any) prosecution is carried out in the "name of the Crown". Begs the argument how do you prosecute yourself?.
 
tacr2man said:
Just from looking at the pics posted and with 15years experience as a firefighter , it doesn't look like the seat of the fire was beneath the vehicle . Thats a first opinion it would need a closer detailed examination to be certain . I dont know if other ex firefighters on here would agree ?
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Not so sure about that initial assessment.

If the burning mattress was below the vehicle, the fire would likely penetrate the underside of it (say via a plastic waste or water pipe melting) very quickly and then spreading through the MH like it was an internal fire (having extended both in width and along the underside through the various penetrations of the floor deck ).

Considering the light-weight wooden panels probably used in the internal construction, they would present virtually no retardancy whatsoever and the fire would spread rapidly throughout the inside of the vehicle; quickly penetrating the roof via a ceiling vent or out via an open window thus creating a flue-like effect and adding to the intensity of the fire. The mention of an explosion could either be the (probably) plastic fuel tank or LPG bottle (although LPG would take quite some time to heat and fail to the point of exploding so in my view is unlikely).

A mattress below the vehicle is a large quantity of fuel to sustain deep penetration by fire within what is really a plastic/composite enclosure. Once inside, the fire would have an ample supply of fuel and air to rage out of control.

By that point, there is little chance of survival of someone inside due mostly to highly toxic fumes & hot smoke and would result in a total loss of the vehicle (as seen in the photo).

The theory of it starting below the MH is also supported by the reports of the woman having burnt feet (from the fire emanating from below and her making her escape through the fire coming from below).

Lessons to be learnt? Install smoke detection in your MH. Have a fire plan and practice it as if your life depended on it; one day it may well do so. Realistically, a fire extinguisher would not have had any impact on a fire of this magnitude and self-evacuation was the only option if you're inside and able to do so.

If these reports are true, a murder investigation should be underway. Sadly, it is possible that local fire investigators have seen a 'normal' MH fire before and concluded it started inside and may not have seen and considered any evidence found below the chassis as being the probable cause.

My condolences to those affected by this tragic incident.

Disclaimer: This is my view of what may have occurred based on what is written and shown here alone

My experience? 13 years Heathrow Airport - Crash Fire and Rescue - Station Officer + Road Traffic Accident Instructor. And later, Fire Safety Officer, Heathrow Airport

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Last edited:
I wasnt sure either , as the post was inviting others of similar background to speculate , seems it worked :)
 
robert groves said:
Also I would like to warn people of stories (Chinese whispers ?)...M/Homers wild camping in North Cornwall having their windscreens and side windows shot at at nightime by Drive-by-yobs with high powers airguns taking potshots ...I have heard it from a few people i have met, but not yet met anybody having been shot at...response from the (overworked) police...'did you get a number' ?
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I live in Cornwall and have heard of no such thing, so I’m a bit sceptical about that one!
 
This event is quite shocking and it’s amazing that the account of the circumstances are still so murky and surrounded by speculation and contradiction. I find it hard to believe that somebody could be so spectacularly stupid to start a fire to smoke out the occupants with the intent to rob them. What did they expect to happen - the occupants to run away leaving the van unattended, and then enter the van to ransack the contents shrouded in toxic smoke while nobody was paying attention to the fire & smoke?
 
Titwheeler said:
I live in Cornwall and have heard of no such thing, so I’m a bit sceptical about that one!
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Sorry to say that Cornwall used to be our favourite place in the UK, ( to show how much we used to love it, even our house is named Lamorna ) but after two incidents over two separate years we will never visit Cornwall in the motorhome again ( one involving drive by stone throwing and baseball bat waving out the car window, and the other involving eggs being thrown

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OurMoreloLife said:
And now they have a confession from the perpetrator, at least some comfort from this tragic incident can be found.

Happy New Year
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Yes, there is some comfort that the alleged arsonist has been charged and awaits trial.

The way that typically fire spreads so fast in these MHs and destroys the entire vehicle can be blamed on the use of combustible EP insulation in the composite floor, side and roof panels. This is industry standard design. Once ignited it spreads and burns until all the EP is consumed.

Why insurers insist we all carry a (teeny weeny) fire extinguisher on board is not understood. It cannot have much effect on the typical fire that destroys the MH but would more likely put the policyholder at high risk if he or she tried to fight the fire from the inside.

When the smoke alarm sounds get out of the MH as fast as you can. Everything can be replaced except you and your loved ones.

Happy New Year.
 
maison said:
A good reminder.

When we took delivery of our new motorhome five weeks ago the first mod I made was to change the smoke detector for one with a ten year battery.
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Make sure to check it. I bought a fireangel with a '10year battery' it lasted barely a year. May have been defective or old stock. I just use a 1 year one now.
 
Thanks Reallyretired (love the name, by the way).

As an ex-firefighter, who appreciates the importance of an early warning, I check it each time we venture out!

Check gas is turned on, check water full, check fridge, check smoke detector! (y)
 

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