I had JUST finished hooking up to leave when I noticed some smoke from their rig and alerted them. They were two spots away from me.

dont_tell_mewhattodo:

I saw some smoke but thought it was just a water mister at first. Then a minute later there was no mistaking it. I ran and told them and we found it was coming from their fridge vent on the roof. Cut their electricity at the box and put out some flames behind the fridge panel but it was too late. Another minute later and the flames were coming out of the roof. I ran to unhook their water and try to fight it with their hose but the flames grew rapidly and I took off. We spent the next few minutes notifying all the trailers around us to get out.

I would say it was no more than 5 minutes from the time I recognized the smoke to when their roof had 5ft flames. Took about 30 minutes and the camper was reduced to the frame by the time the fire department got there. This was at Hart Ranch Camping Resort outside Rapid City, SD.

EDIT: most importantly, no humans or pets were injured that I was aware of.

UTtransplant:

There is a known issue in some RV refrigerators where the refrigerator can catch fire. It is related to the coolant, not propane, and is the subject of a big class action lawsuit. And yes, an RV can go up in a very few minutes.

RelativeFox1:

That sucks. Remember to vacuum leaves and and debris from around the fridge and hot water tank.

Spaceship_Mechanic:

This looks like an old episode of Top Gear UK.

goldendinnerplate:

I wonder if a smoke detector would have triggered?

lvhockeytrish:

How scary. You did a good thing. I’m glad everyone was ok!

Source: I had JUST finished hooking up to leave when I noticed some smoke from their rig and alerted them. They were two spots away from me.