Paul LeClair garage fire

Paul LeClair

Paul LeClair

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Location
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hi all

November 13, 2020 I started my 1990 Bentley Turbo R in my garage and it burst into flames. Destroyed the car, gutted the garage.

of the 9 motorcycles in the garage, all got heavily coated with black oil smoke, the only significant motorcycle damage was to the Garelli 150 project, which was closest to the car, and the windscreen off the RGS Executive which was off the bike and close enough to the car the windscreen melted. The motorcycles were all promptly removed and put into storage. I have not gotten to cleaning them or otherwise dealing with them yet, have to sort the garage first.

the flooring in the garage was 3/4 inch thick rubber sheets in 6 foot by 4 foot interlocking panels. The flooring caught fire, making a heck of a mess and generating huge clouds of thick black smoke.

the firemen did a great job, at the height of the fire we had 5 fire trucks, EMS, police, etc., and made the local news, unfortunately. The garage doors are both high security roll shutters, with 5 firemen inside the garage and the fire at its height the "safety feature" in the doors triggered and the garage doors closed with the firemen inside. Terrifying. The doors are very robust, when the firemen could not break them open they fired up a  huge power saw and cut one of the doors out.......

The garage was a fully equipped and functioning shop. Glad the commercial oxy/acetylene tanks did not explode. The shell of the building was salvageable after some repairs to trusses, etc. Had to be taken back to a bare shell, new electrical panel, completely rewired, insulated, drywalled, painted, all newlighting, etc. Making great progress, for the most part. The replacement windows (they broke from the heat), man door, garage doors etc are all ordered. Waiting for the new gas furnace to be delivered and installed shortly.

As the rubber flooring I used previously is apparently no longer available, I settled with the insurance company on the garage floor separately, went with SwissTrax this time. http://swisstrax.ca/ My wife and I did the basic floor install ourselves earlier to day, laid the basic floor, now I have a bunch of cutting and fitting to do this evening to finish the floor install.

All my tools have been "off site" since the fire, some of it is apparently salvageable, some not. First time in my adult life I have been without access to tools, bloody hell, driving me nuts.......

Both my adult son Marc, and I, were treated for smoke inhalation, and seem now fine. No-one was hurt, and everything was insured. Glad to see 2020 behind us for a number of reasons. Also, believe it or not, I am shopping for another Bentley, or possibly a Roll's this time around.......

a few photos.

Paul LeClair

 

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a few more photos.

all will  be well, but likely another month or more before I am ready to start cleaning up the motorcycles and dealing with whatever they may need...

a further comment. I emptied a large conventional fire extinguisher into the engine bay of the Bentley likely within 30 seconds of the engine bay igniting. The fire extinguisher didn't do a bloody thing, laster less than ten seconds, and didn't even slow the flames/fire down. Since then I have done a bit of research on fire extinguishers. See https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=jay+leno+fire+extinguisher&docid=608007687038306354&mid=BCE3A583DDDEA5DB0448BCE3A583DDDEA5DB0448&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

I have ordered and received half a dozen of the 50 second  versions https://elementfire.com/ I have them now in my old Jag, old Triumph, in the kitchen of the house, and will mount a couple within easy reach in the garage when the rebuild is complete. Might have saved the Bentley and the garage, who knows, the conventional fire extinguisher was bloody useless.

Paul LeClair
 

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Fuck me, Thankfully it could have been worse, no one seriously hurt. I had a Dirtbike catch fire once and without a fully equipped Fire Truck right there vehicle fires are IMPOSABLE to put out and they burn hot and to the ground. Having the doors close mid-fire, what a horror story. Bet that gets some attention with the Fireys in the future.
 
Scary stuff Paul. Glad nobody was hurt. Best of luck with the bikes and no nasty surprises. Any ideas on why the Bentley caught fire?
What triggers the security shutters to actuate? If they were linked to a smoke detector they?d likely have closed much earlier. Not a good scenario for a fire on the inside! Maybe loss of power causes battery/UPS override. Anyway, good to see you?re fine.
 
Hmm ? Rubber or plastic flooring doesn't seem like such a good idea.

I've never been a fan of floor coverings in workshops where vehicles are parked or if there's some risk of fire, such as grinding or welding. I prefer a plain concrete floor.

I've had a couple of small fires in my workshop as a result of grinding or welding, but was able to put them out before they got anywhere.

Glad to hear that nobody was seriously hurt.

British cars eh? I used to work with a bloke who bought a brand new Range Rover. He'd only had it a few days when it burst into flames. He and his family all got out in time, but the car was completely destroyed.
 
Scary stuff Paul, glad to hear that everybody is okay and the bikes have minimum damage.
Bet the fire departments are reviewing their SOPs and EOPs.
 
Holy shit. Paul, what a nightmare you have been keeping secret from us. Very lucky that your are all ok. Incredibly fast to be getting onto the repairs, which can't be easy in winter and all the pandemic restrictions. 
 
That door closing thing is here a big issue, all exits in  Australia in an emergency are required to be default unlocked, and it's obvious why. A very expensive block of townhouses I worked at had their personal garage doors with the roller section and its emergency release on the outside and inexcusable from anyone trapped inside and finding a fix was not simple and at $10 mill oz a unit they were not happy.
 
Whoa, scary!  I'll just parrot others relief that nobody was injured and the bikes survived. 

I've edited this post which reading it back was in poor timing and taste having a go at Bentleys etc.  I think everyone here understands the attraction of vehicles that don't make sense.  We love them as much for their faults as their strengths.  Every vehicle I own would be classed as rubbish by 95+% of the population, but I love them all.  Really sorry to read of the fire Paul, and the Bentley which you no doubt invested a lot of time and care into.  A garage fire has got to be the enthusiast's worst nightmare at least in terms of property loss.  I can only imagine the total loose end one would feel to be at without a garage or some tools to wrench something with.

Glad to hear all are well, bikes are mostly safe, and that a combination of insurance and hard work will return more silly but loveable toys to the road.
 
Holy Toledus! What a tale! I can't believe that all that has happened in the time since you last posted - seems only weeks ago. Very rapid response getting it back to operational - I'm impressed! Is the garage separate from the main house building? Very lucky if yes - and no really serious casualties other than the Bentley - sounds like it wanted to self-immolate!!

When you see what CAN happen - Paul Marx!! ChrisK - you've been super lucky. Out of interests, would a fire blanket have been more effective in smothering that British beast ablaze. Paul?

Sheesh, you've had quite a year, mate.  :eek:
 
I coincidently saw this the other day, sorry to post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ab9OkgDex8&t=955s
 
Wow sorry to hear Paul ,fires in the workshop or anywhere can be bad news. Hope the bikes are ok and your new Bentley or Rolls will be fireproof . Best of luck with your refurbishing & you are back on the road real soon.
                          Levo
 
Heavens Paul, you?ve certainly been clearing some karma in the last while. 
Gratefully you?ve come through it all, if not stronger, then at least wiser.   

The RGS seems to have had its fair share as well, first the rod, then the clutch and now the fire damage.    Good that the Bayflex held up.

You are very fortunate to have had such a fantastic response by your local fire fighters.    We recently had a case up country where someone lost a Range Rover and a Porsche in a garage fire.  There had been no response to his emergency calls and it transpired that the fire station was closed.

Amazed that you have managed so quickly to resolve the insurance aspects, and progress with the repairs.

Tom
 
I can only echo what others have said. Congrats on getting out OK - and comiserations on the damage.

I've got two big extinguishers in my shop - one by the door at each end.
I've seen a friend lose his dad's workshop and collection in a fire so it's something I'm always wary about.

Stay safe.
 
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.
 
I'm glad to hear that nobody was hurt in the fire. Recently looked at my fire extinguisher in the garage and wondered if it still works.
Have to look at a replacement.

Gerald
 
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