Paul LeClair garage fire

martymoose said:
Wow!  Thankfully everyone is ok. (And my 1200 survived)😀. I guess once a fuel injected car splits a hose and keeps pumping fuel, very hard to put it out with any type of extinguisher.

Time for everyone to check their fire extinguishers.
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An XJ12 Jag I went to look at did this but fortunately it was out in the driveway. It was an inferno. Old fuel injection systems need to be treated with caution.
Mind you recently the Mikuni fuel tap had stuck open (yet again) on my Triumph 900 and flooded the airbox, cylnders and sump with fuel overnight with petrol. This was a new tap a year ago and they don't have an off switch. Ethanol seems to wreck them very quickly and this is a carb model. Bloody dangerous and a pain in the backside. Obviously the float needles were damaged too. For anyone who has one of these bikes which isn't used regularly it might be worth keeping a very careful eye on this. Third time it has happened to me.

Paul, good luck for the future, you seem to have been on the receiving end for a while now. Hope everything goes well from now on.
 
Bloody hell Paul! :o
Very pleased to hear that you're all OK and that most of the contents of your toyshop were saved.

I have fire extinguishers in the garage, but as others have also said, I'll be checking their use / date / likely effectiveness. No good shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.... :-[

I sincerely hope that 2021 turns out to be a better year for you. Shouldn't be difficult!

Alan :)
 
Hi Paul - What terrible luck - i know how awful having a workshop fire is - trying to list all the items for the insurance without missing any is almost impossible. glad to hear you and the bikes were mainly unscathed. Best of luck - Phil
 
Good luck with getting it all back to how it was (or thereabouts) Paul. Sorry to hear of the bother - as the others say, my hat is raised to you and your PMA.
 
Good you are OK, everything else is replaceable. Thankfully, you could safe most of what was in the garage and the new/restored garage will look even better! all the best!!
 
a14rgs said:
Bloody hell Paul! :o
Very pleased to hear that you're all OK and that most of the contents of your toyshop were saved.

I have fire extinguishers in the garage, but as others have also said, I'll be checking their use / date / likely effectiveness. No good shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.... :-[

I sincerely hope that 2021 turns out to be a better year for you. Shouldn't be difficult!

Alan :)
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Al keep your eye on that Triumph fuel tap on Steves old bike mate. They are a disaster waiting to happen.
 
pf1 said:
Al keep your eye on that Triumph fuel tap on Steves old bike mate. They are a disaster waiting to happen.
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Pat - cheers, I read your earlier post - very useful advice. I've not used the Daytona for months - battery is buggered - but did hook it up to the missus' car with some jump leads at the weekend and fired it up, having previously checked the oil for any evidence of fuel ;)
Fuel tap was replaced after Steve rode it back from Breganze.
 
Did the Bentley catch fire from the central locking relay/ fuel vent pipe? I remember reading about one going bang in a showroom in the U.S
Had my Montju?c backfired through carbs and caught fire - it was in my wooden workshop along with Harley , Vincent Comet , 750SF & 750 GT. I had to wheel it back out the door, put it on the stand and I ripped the tank off ( luckily only held on with a rubber band ) then flapped the fire out with a rag! Burnt arms, jumper and a red face but quite terrifying . I put out a z1300 that in our workshop, the guy was turning the motor over on the starter with the plugs on the head checking for a spark and the fuel pump spat some fuel over the engine - Whoosh- I emptied a big powder extinguisher over it and it was out in seconds- workshop was covered in powder , we were still finding powder inside the cupboards years later! Glad your ok, anyway.
 
Good Grief, Paul ...

Glad to hear you and your boy are ok.  That could have gone a lot, lot worse.  That garage door story is insane.

And thumbs up for the PMA - you're a lesson to us all on how to behave in the face of adversity,  extreme adversity in your case.  Chapeau, m'sieur.

Btw:
A long time ago, it was drummed into to me to NEVER rely on fire extinguishers.  This was in the building game, and here in France we had a brutal reminder in 2019 of what can happen when things go tits.
 

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a14rgs said:
Pat - cheers, I read your earlier post - very useful advice. I've not used the Daytona for months - battery is buggered - but did hook it up to the missus' car with some jump leads at the weekend and fired it up, having previously checked the oil for any evidence of fuel ;)
Fuel tap was replaced after Steve rode it back from Breganze.
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I'm going to either put some in line fuel taps in or get one of those Pingel ones. The tap is a swine to get to if it starts leaking, the diaphragm is on the inside of the tap opposite the switch and the carbs are a also swine to get off too. My new tap has only been on the bike for about a year, maybe 18 months.
 
Really sorry to see and read about that,the business with the fire extinguisher  as well,you have these things ready for an emergency,10 seconds is really next to useless,no wonder you`ve obtained a supply of those 50 second ones.
I noticed Nov.13 was a Friday,best keep an eye open for when one of those comes around again,but seriously glad you`re okay and getting things sorted out again.
Regards,Tony.
 
Holy Guacamole !!!!!!
Super glad that everyone is OK Paul, that must have been very frightening and feeling powerless once the extinguisher had puffed its last puff.
The Fire Dep't were there quick too, I bet you caused a stir in the neighbourhood.

I'm sure you will be tackling this with your customary enthusiasm and speed, there is not much that can hold you back. The bikes being largely OK is a huge relief no doubt. 

I can see the attraction of a Bentley/Rolls, the one you had was an absolute beauty, but I'm sure you will get another great one.



 
Glad you are OK and bad luck about what happened. Whilst not cheap, I have a Halotron 2.5 pound fire extinguisher in every car, and 4 x 5 pound ones in the garage, and large and small fire blankets to hand ( and in the kitchens ). Hope never to have to use them. These replaced old fire extinguishers I had with which I did training in how to use them with my wife and teenager.....how many times have you practiced using a fire extinguisher ?

Again, glad you are safe ! ALEX
 
sonomalaverda said:
These replaced old fire extinguishers I had with which I did training in how to use them with my wife and teenager.....how many times have you practiced using a fire extinguisher ?
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That's a very valid point, Alex.

I did recurrent training as part of my professional qualification and the full-time Firemen who trained us had a vast collection of tales of Fire Extinguishers in inexperienced hands.

Fire and extinguishers are associated with a host of serious hazards.
Self-teaching is, of course, possible, as it is turning with a lathe, but, potentially, as dangerous.

Do it before a fire starts.

Worth contacting your local Fire Brigade, they may well provide training.
 
So sorry to learn of this accident, Paul.  What a year, eh?  But as has been noted, it could have been worse.  I'm relieved to learn that no lives were lost.  Good luck.
 
Vince said:
I coincidently saw this the other day, sorry to post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ab9OkgDex8&t=955s
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Paul..very gratified to hear you are safe and doing well! Garage fires are the worst.

And, the "car wizard" YouTube guy..what a cry baby. If you work on a Bentley Turbo R then you are supposed to have the intellectual and financial resources to service it. If not, go back to GM.
 
Bloody hell Paul... I remember seeing that story on CTV's web site back in Nov... had no idea it was you!  Glad you and Marc escaped with no serious injuries, that could have been so much worse given all the flammable materials in your garage.

Take care,
Andy
 
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